Chapter 3: Narrow Margin
The ponies prepare themselves for upcoming war,
The danger approaches from the sea.
Yet their foes are unlike their previous ones,
How will they manage against them…?
Chapter 3
Narrow Margin
June 11th, 2021
0730 hrs
Canterlot, Mirage squadron’s base
Rainbow Dash slowly got up from her bed. She only managed to catch a few hours of so much needed sleep. As the blue pegasus turned her head around, she noticed that her teammates were already out of the room. Now she remembered everything that happened yesterday and came to a conclusion that they are probably conducting training for the upcoming battles. Not wanting to waste more time, she jumped out of her bed and left the room as well. Walking through a couple of corridors, Rainbow Dash noticed Lightning Bolt sitting in front of a computer monitor in the Mission Control. While it was by no means an unusual sight, she decided to go in to see what was she looking at.
Hearing the sounds of doors opening and hoofsteps, the white pegasus turned her seat around, bearing a bright smile on her face.
“Good morning, Rainbow. Did you sleep well?” she asked.
Rainbow yawned mildly before answering.
“Not really. You know, mornings would’ve been a lot better if they happened at noon. Say, where are the others?”
“In the training room,” Lightning answered. “They’ve been training there for the past thirty minutes. Firefly wanted to recall various maneuvers we learned before.”
“Just as I thought,” Rainbow grumbled. “And why aren’t you with them?”
Lightning Bolt kept pushing a button on the keyboard as she replied.
“I’ve been checking the data on our army’s equipment. I’d rather be certain what gems of technology we get to use against our adversaries. If needed, we can use them as well.”
Rainbow didn’t seem to be much interested in this matter, since she stared at the screen with a blank sight, even though it showed some interesting weaponry, including a fleet of brand new cruisers that will form the 1st Naval Fleet. Just before Rainbow left the room to join the other pegasi in the training, Lightning showed her something that caught her attention.
A picture of a pair of large machine guns with a strapping belt attached to it.
“What the hay are those things?” the blue pegasus asked.
“Those machine guns may give additional advantage to the pegasi,” Lightning Bolt explained. “They are made of a special alloy that makes them light enough to be carried on the back, and each barrel contains 500 rounds, with a rate of fire being fifty rounds per ten seconds. With these, we might be able to deal greater damage to enemy structures or vehicles without going for direct contact. In other words, these will give us a long range attack possibility.”
Rainbow analyzed the contraption with a sceptical look.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to my hooves and wings anyway. Seriously, can you imagine a pegasus with these things strapped on its back? It will look totally ridiculous.”
“We should use whatever we can to have some advantage against our foes, especially since we’re uncertain what are they going to use against us,” Lightning argued.
Rainbow Dash did think about the truth of those words.
“In any case, I have some other news, too,” the white pegasus carried on. ”Your friend, Rarity, visited us about an hour ago. She said she is in process of redesigning and updating the looks of our vests, as well as making them more durable.”
“That’s good news,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m gonna go check on the other girls. See you around.”
With these words, Rainbow headed for the door, but just as they opened, a blaring sound echoed through the base. The blue pegasus let out a loud groan.
“An alarm, now?! Gimme a break!”
Lightning Bolt instantly answered the call coming from the other side of the connection. At the same time, Fluttershy, Firefly, Medley, Cloud Kicker and Derpy came running into Mission Control.
“Looks like things are starting up!” the pink pegasus commented.
Gale’s voice greeted them from the monitor.
“Mirage, I trust you are all ready. The enemy is well on its way, and it seems the first attack will come from the sea. Our scout ships spotted several unknown vessels heading toward Equestria. Take a look.”
The screen, initially showing Equestria’s digitized map, changed to display several pictures of ships floating on the water. Lightning Bolt examined them closely.
“Frigates, cruisers, missile boats… that’s a pretty strong fleet.”
“Yes, but those ships aren’t the main worry,” Gale’s voice carried on, as one of the pictures zoomed in to reveal seven smaller ships that were unarmed, but well protected by the others. Lightning gasped.
“Those are landing ships! Are they trying to…?”
“Indeed,” Gale confirmed. “A raid. Their landing operation might be their first step in entering Equestria and beginning an all-out war. According to our data, these ships will approach Fillydelphia, their nearest target, in less than two hours.”
Rainbow Dash wasn’t feeling sleepy anymore. Realizing that time was of the essence, she immediately turned around after hearing those words, surprising other ponies.
“Gale, you can give us the details while we’ll make our way to the city. Come on, everypony, to the runway! We’re taking off!”
When the operator heard that, he acknowledged the sentence and told Lightning to switch the computer off. Seeing their leader in a combative mood, the six other pegasi followed Rainbow almost instantly. Only Fluttershy seemed a little hesitant, for reasons known only to her…
Once all fliers assembled on the runway, Rainbow gave a quick explanation.
“For the time being, we’ll have to fly without our vests until Rarity will finish improving them. Without them, we may be a bit tough for our guys to identify. Because of that, I want you to use the radio and refer to each other in callsigns every time. Got it?”
The rest of the pegasi nodded. Lightning Bolt pointed out that the communicators they received were recently updated and are now much more durable and resistant to jamming.
“Now we’ll be able to use them even during a snowstorm or other extreme anomalies. There should no problems.”
“OK, girls, let’s get ready,” Rainbow ordered. “Formation! Wings up! All fliers, report!”
“Flash, ready!”
“Thunder, ready!”
“Sunny, ready!”
“Butterfly, ready!”
“Ditzy, ready!”
“Kid, ready!”
Rainbow Dash grinned, seeing her friends ready for action.
“Let’s go, Mirage squadron! To the skies!”
In a matter of seconds, all seven pegasi took off from their base and started heading toward Fillydelphia. They didn’t want to waste anymore time. Rainbow contacted Gale and asked him to verify mission statements He explained everything in detail.
“Our naval base in Fillydelphia will most likely be attacked by the enemy fleet. Currently, the citizens are expecting the attack at any time, since, due to Princess Celestia’s orders, the city has been put on high alert. That port can be used by the enemy’s landing ships to disembark their forces straight into the city. We must prevent that at all costs.”
“Are there any units ensigned to protect Fillydelphia?” Firefly asked.
“Yes. Our 1st Naval Fleet is docked there, and the soldiers are preparing to battle the Exile forces. Unfortunately, their mobility is very limited, as the ships are still undergoing maintenance. They are only able to use their weapons at a limited range. If the enemy fleet will attack them as it is, they will become sitting ducks. Among the ships is our new battlecruiser Luminescence. It is the flagship of the 1st Naval Fleet and a critical combat asset.”
“I’m guessing we’ll have to protect it?” Rainbow asked.
“Correct,” Gale answered. “But that isn’t your only mission. Since the enemy has landing ships in their fleet, they are the priority. If as much as three of those ships will make it to the port, the Exile battalions will pour into the city and they may take it over.”
Cloud Kicker frowned a little.
“At times like that, any help would be welcome.”
“Not to worry,” said Gale. “The Wonderbolts have already reached the city, and this time, they are in a full six pegasus squadron. Besides them, you will also have the assistance of Burner, Racer and Dragon squadrons. Your main task, Mirage, is to prevent the enemy landing ships from reaching Fillydelphia, as well as to protect the battleship Luminescence.”
Firefly wasn’t certain at first.
“And how are we suppose to deal with those ships? You don’t expect us to just ram into them and beat them with our hooves like we did with the griffin turrets or AA guns, do you?” she asked sarcastically.
“If I did, I’d sent you with armor-piercing missiles strapped onto you,” Gale replied, being equally sarcastic.
While Firefly chuckled, Fluttershy didn’t find that amusing at all.
“We can provide a distraction, but we can’t destroy the ships directly. Not without heavy firepower, at least.”
“Exactly,” Gale carried on. “That’s why the main job of air units in this battle will be to help our ships in locating enemy vessels. Upon pinpointing their location, our fleet will attempt to destroy them.”
Medley scratched her head.
“Hold on. You mean we have to fly around them, radio in the nearest friendly ship and tell them to blast that particular enemy ship once it gets into their firing range? Why? Is their radar offline or something?”
“As I said, they are still wrapping up maintenance. They are not fully prepared to meet the enemy fleet in battle without air support. ”
Rainbow Dash initially wanted to argue about radar control being a critical asset in every war, but since their communicators had one inbuilt as well, it wasn’t much of an issue.
“Did you understand your mission, Mirage?” Gale asked.
“Yeah. We are to provide air support for 1st Naval Fleet, take out enemy landing ships, protect that battleship and Fillydelphia, in general.”
The blue pegasus said it with a laid back voice, making it sound like it will be very easy for her. Gale didn’t respond to that at first, but once he did, he sounded very serious.
“Quit screwing around. This is the war! The enemy will be all over you, and, if you’re not prepared, they’re going to eat you alive!”
“No worries, Gale,” Firefly assured him. “Once we get there, will drive the Exiles back where they came from.”
“I certainly hope so. Good luck. Contact me again once you reach Fillydelphia. Gale out!”
Keeping a steady pace, the seven fliers carried on their flight, discussing possible options they can take during the battle. Once again, Lightning Bolt mentioned the machine guns being available to the pegasi at any time. But Rainbow was still sceptical about them, contrary to Medley, who seemed a little excited.
“I wouldn’t mind shooting those baddies from a distance. What makes them think they can actually barge into Equestria and…?”
The green pegasus went silent as she looked behind her. Medley flew to Rainbow, poked her on the back and pointed at Fluttershy, who was flying slower than the others and had a glum look on her face. Rainbow called out to her:
“Fluttershy, you’re falling behind! Stay in formation!”
“I’m sorry…”
She increased her speed a bit trying to catch up, but instead, Rainbow approached her. The others stopped in midair, waiting.
“What’s the matter with you?” the blue pegasus asked.
“Rainbow…” Fluttershy started sheepishly, “have you thought… just for a moment… who are we going to fight against?”
“We’ll be fighting against ponies who try to invade Equestria,” Rainbow Dash replied.
Fluttershy frowned even more. The perspective of having to fight other ponies filled her with doubt. It wasn’t like during the previous conflict, when their opponents were griffins. They were overconfident, power-hungry and arrogant, so defending Equestria seemed only natural from these kind of invaders. But having to fight her own kind…?
Firefly tried reasoning with her.
“Look, even if they are ponies and they used to live in Equestria, now they try to conquer it. You heard what Aurora was saying, right? If her soldiers are at least half as dangerous as she said, we can’t hold back! This may be precisely what they want: to catch us off-guard, then kill us. I don’t know about you, but those tricks won’t work on me!”
Fluttershy remained reluctant. Rainbow sighed loudly.
“OK, listen, Fluttershy. You don’t have to participate in the battle directly. Just make sure you’ll give us a holler through the radio if enemy units will be approaching. And try to support us from time to time. Can you do that?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Good. Now come on, girls, let’s move!”
The Mirage squadron resumed their flight toward Fillydelphia. Little did they knew that they were already too late…
==========
0812 hrs
Bridle Shores, Fillydelphia airspace
The enemy ships have already showed up on the horizon. The Wonderbolts were doing a patrol and saw the danger from the skies. Soarin’s seemed surprised.
“They’re here already? That was faster than we expected.”
“We gotta act fast. Firebolt, send the signal to 1st Fleet for stand-by alert,” Spitfire ordered. “We’re gonna keep the front ships distracted until the other squadrons will sortie.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Focusing her sight on the missile boat in front of enemy formation, Spitfire made a deep breath before looking at Soarin’, who simply noded with a serious expression on his face.
“Here we go!”
Just as they headed away, they got a call. Spitfire answered it.
“So, you must be the famous Wonderbolts, huh? I’m Captain Bluehaze, in charge of the battleship Luminescence. As you might already know, there are landing ships among the enemy fleet. We’ll lose the city if they are allowed to make it ashore. We need you to help us defend the port. We still require some time to prepare for combat, so we need you to keep the enemy ships at bay. Give us about fifteen minutes, and we’re all set. We’ll be risking our necks out here with you.”
“Copy that, Captain Bluehaze,” Spitfire replied. “We’ve got a visual on hostile ships. En route to intercept.”
While the two pegasi could keep the enemy busy, there wasn’t much they could do alone. Upon coming into contact with the first missile boat, Spitfire and Soarin’ started circling around it, provoking the ponies onboard to actually fire at them. Firebolt joined soon after.
“Burner, Racer and Dragon flights will be here in a moment,” she said.
“So, got any plans, Spitfire?” Soarin’ asked.
“Well, one thing’s for sure: there’s no point in attacking the ships directly. Our hooves won’t even dent their armor. But, we can still focus on their crew and try to take out as many as we can to reduce their combat effectiveness.”
With Firebolt and Soarin’ agreeing to this tactic, Spitfire dived right in front of the missile boat.
“All right. Let’s see what these guys are made of.”
A barrage of machine gun fire followed from the deck, but she had no problems with avoiding it. Soarin’ used his chance to attack the pony controlling the gun and knock him out with a single attack. Unsurprisingly, the other ships didn’t seem too concerned with the Wonderbolts’ attacks and only kept heading toward Fillydelphia. If only they had something they could use to actually damage the ships...
Right before moving into a frigate, deeper into enemy formation, Firebolt warned Spitfire:
“Incoming from above!”
Spitfire dodged to the right and in the next second, the frigate was hit by a bomb. A small explosion scattered the Exile troops across the boat and damaged the guns. The Wonderbolt leader looked up to see Flare Star, a green pegasus with an orange mane, the leader of the Dragon squadron, descending into the battle.
“Did you like my entry?” she asked. “I wanted to try one of those babies out. Tornado Swirl and Overdrive will be here any second.”
“Where’d you get that bomb?” Soarin’ wondered.
“From our own ships, where else?” Flare Star responded. “Luminescence and the rest agreed to share their ammunition stock with us until they get ready to actually leave the port and go into open battle. Just go to the nearest ship, grab a bomb and drop it on those Exile suckers.”
Thanks to this new option, the EAF units now had a possibility of preventing the enemy from advancing any further. One of the Exile captains, commanding a battleship of his own, saw what happened to the frigate and quickly sent orders to other units.
“Let’s see how they will fare against our own air force. Scramble all available units!”
In a matter of seconds, more than ten pegasi took off from the nearest carrier, which remained in the rear of the main formation. Those carries were used as mobile bases for the pegasi so they could take off whenever the need came. The radars in Wonderbolts’ communicators quickly picked up several red dots heading in their direction.
“Bogies inbound!” Firebolt hollered.
“Yeah, I see them,” said Spitfire. “Guess the real battle’s just begun.”
Flare Star and three of her wingmates, two of which were her good friends, Wind Whistler and Rainfall, flew ahead to confront the opposing squadrons. Spitfire’s group still kept their eyes focused on the ships, seeing as they picked up speed and were now actually firing at them. At one point, after several daring evasions of enemy gunfire, one of the missile boats locked onto Spitfire and fired a missile at her, but she managed to dodge it.
“Must’ve hit their nerve,” she commented.
The two Exile squadrons that fought against Dragon squadron weren’t very hard to beat, even though their leaders were using machine guns strapped to their backs to attack the fliers from a safe distance. Flare Star’s teammates easily avoided those attacks, but the orange-maned mare herself got a little carried away and charged straight through the middle of their formation. While this action broke their rank, she found herself surrounded. Luckily, the green pegasus was saved by the arrival of Burner and Racer squadrons. Tornado Swirl even wore the same pair of machine guns with him as the ones Lightning Bolt showed to Rainbow Dash and made good use of them.
-----------------
Away from the battle, Aurora Starlight and her Reaper squadron were observing the battle from their own flagship, the Warbird. Trickster was very displeased by the army performance as he watched them on the monitor.
“Look how pathetic they are! They can’t even beat a bunch of pegasi wearing jumpsuits! We should go there and show them how its done!”
“Not yet,” Shockwave argued. “We are still waiting for our true enemies to show up.”
“Why don’t we just call Scinfaxi and let them do the work?” the yellow colt insisted.
“It’s too early,” Deathwing explained. “We need to wait for them to make their move. Once they do… we will send them a message.”
“If the battle drags for too long, you will join the fray,” said Aurora.
So far, everything was going according to her plan. A sinister smile appeared on her face.
-----------------
“This is the captain of the battleship Luminescence,” Bluehaze’s voice sounded in the Wonderbolts’ communicators. “We need about five more minutes before we’re ready to head out. Can you distract the enemy for a little while longer?”
“Sure thing, Cap,” Soarin’ responded.
Spitfire then saw that the main enemy fleet is starting to split in two smaller groups. Each of them surrounded the landing ships using their own frigates, missile boats and battleships. When the fiery-maned pegasus tried to get close, the anti-air machine gun barrage became intense and she had to pull back. Flare Star brought another bomb from the armory of Luminescence, but as she tried to drop it onto one of the frigates, the gun barrage got in the way. The bomb was destroyed in midair, much to Flare Star’s annoyance.
“Horse apples! We can’t get any closer to them! If this keep up, they will reach the city!”
“Luminescence, what’s your status?” Spitfire asked.
“Just a couple more minutes… Our engines are already up and running. We just need to arm the ship,” Captain Bluehaze answered.
Things became even worse when a new pack of enemy pegasi flew into combat area and started attacking Burner and Racer squadrons. They were overwhelmed, but Wonderbolts were unable to help them, as they couldn’t ignore the approaching fleet. The situation looked dramatic.
It was in this moment that everypony’s radars picked up seven approaching signals. One of them went ahead of the others. Within a second, a rainbow-colored streak ripped through the skies, straight into enemy formation, scattering them. Six more fliers joined the brave pegasus mare in defeating the enemy squadron.
“Sorry for the hold up.”
The ponies aboard the EAF ships recognized them and started cheering for them as the looked into the sky.
“It’s Mirage! The Angels have come! We’re going to win!”
“Hey, Rainbow Dash, took you long enough. The enemy barged in without waiting,” Spitfire commented.
“Oh yeah? Well then, time to get serious,” she replied.
Rainbow quickly dispatched Lightning Bolt, Cloud Kicker and Derpy to help the Wonderbolts in stopping one of the enemy fleet groups from reaching Fillydelphia. Their main problem was the continuous artillery barrage getting in their way and preventing a proper approach.
“It’s no use. When we get close, they start shooting,” Cloud Kicker whined.
Derpy suddenly had a thought.
“I think I know what to do. But, I’ll need your help, girls.”
Lightning and Cloud agreed to help her, although the grey mare didn’t tell them what was she planning. Within a few seconds, she reached Luminescence and picked a bomb that looked smaller than those used to attack ships so far. It was green and had a powerful warhead. Once Derpy returned with it, Lightning Bolt gasped, as she understood the plan now.
“You’re going to use a guided penetration bomb?! But you need to be very close to...”
“That’s why I need your help,” Derpy interrupted. “I’ll try to break through that barrage and bomb the battleship. I need you to cover me.”
Cloud Kicker seemed uncertain at first, but once the Dragon squadron offered additional support, she was ready to help. Gale instructed Derpy to reach at least 800 feet away from target before dropping the bomb, so that its mechanism will lock onto it. The grey pegasus started flying toward the enemy fleet, with her friends going ahead in an attempt to distract the escorts long enough. She’d have only a small window of opportunity to take out that battleship, so timing was of the essence.
While the escorts started firing at the other pegasi and seemingly forgot about Derpy, the captain of the enemy battleship saw through her plan. When she was only 2000 feet away from the target, he ordered to shoot her down. Derpy tried to avoid the bullets as she kept going, but a few of them grazed her wings, causing her pain. She held onto the bomb even more and pressed forward. Another bullet grazed her wing, almost making her careen off course. But she didn’t stop. Derpy managed to reach the designated distance and dropped the guided penetration bomb at the battleship.
“Here’s a special delivery!”
The Exiles, boarded on landing ships and more than eager to disembark and attack Equestria, saw their great battleship literally being rend in half due to bomb’s impact. Pieces of its armor were scattered across the water as its crew desperately tried to escape. A few seconds later, the huge battleship exploded. Lightning Bolt and Cloud Kicker were cheering loudly.
Flare Star also watched everything in awe.
“Direct hit! Had me kinda worried for a moment, but… That was awesome, Mirage 6!”
Her wingmates came to help Derpy in getting to safer ground, as she was unable to stabilize her flight because of wounds she suffered. They weren’t very dangerous, but they didn’t want to take the risk.
The destruction of one of their battleships brought a bit of chaos into the Exiles’ ranks. The EAF units used this opportunity to deal additional damage to the first fleet group, dropping bombs onto the ships and sinking each and every one. Soon after dispatching them, Captain Bluehaze informed them that preparations were completed. The Luminescence and the entire 1st Fleet were now ready to join the battle. He announced it by ordering to fire at the second Exile fleet group, heavily damaging one of its frigates.
“The engine’s been hit! Heavy damage! All hooves, abandon ship!”
Fluttershy looked at the entire battle with very mixed emotions. She was glad to see her friends winning, but the sight of ponies floating in the sea and being carried away by pegasi, who were not busy fighting at the moment, to the ships, filled her with grief and sadness.
“Why is this happening…? This isn’t right… Somepony stop it…”
==========
Aurora seemed a bit shocked as she saw her battleship being destroyed. However, she didn’t lose her composure. She still had a few landing ships left, and the chance to invade the city wasn’t lost yet. Now she knew that the EAF flagship was their main strength. It had to be eliminated.
“Let’s not keep them waiting any longer,” she said to herself before adjusting her radio. “Scinfaxi, do you read me?”
“Yes, Warbird, we read you,” a monotone voice answered. “What is your command?”
“... Launch it. Aim for enemy’s flagship.”
“Acknowledged. We’ll launch in 30 seconds.”
Aurora cut the link and looked at the four pegasi standing beside her.
“Once the message has been sent, you will join the battle.”
They all seemed quite excited, especially Trickster. Deathwing also longed to fight against the best and test his strength. Aurora chuckled quietly as she sent a signal to the other battleship.
-----------------
“Attention, all units!” the Exile commander radioed to his comrades. “I have received new orders from Lady Aurora. Stop with the advance! We are to remain on our current positions until further notice.”
These orders were questionable to some subordinates, especially those on ships being closest to the city and the 1st Equestrian Fleet. But they had no choice. Engine rooms on all Exile ships ceased actions, causing the pegasi from Mirage squadron to ponder on that unexpected change.
“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash wondered. “Why did they stop?”
“Maybe… they are going to surrender,” said Fluttershy.
Gale went ahead and decided to analyze the situation. When he picked up a strange activity outside the combat sector, the expression on his face was nothing short of terrified. He had to hurry.
“All allied air forces, be advised! The enemy is about to launch a burst missile! They are targeting the 1st Fleet!”
Spitfire gasped loudly. She still remembered those dreaded weapons of mass destruction being used by Red Cyclone’s army during the Equestrian War. Could it be that the Exiles had access to them as well? There was little time.
“Hurry up, everypony! Climb above 5000 feet!”
“What about the 1st Fleet?” Lightning Bolt asked. “Can’t we do something?”
“Luminescence! Stay in the port! Do not leave your position! All other ships, spread out!” Spitfire hollered.
While Captain Bluehaze acknowledged the order and told the helmsman to halt the ship, there were still several smaller ships which already left the port in pursuit of the enemy. They were left open to the burst missile’s devastating explosions. What was worse, they were without any visible means of escaping or countermeasures.
Gale announced the burst missile launching. All pegasi were already save above the designated height, but the ships were still vulnerable. Seeing no other way, the soldiers aboard started to abandon them, getting into lifeboats and trying to escape. They were racing against time.
“10 seconds to impact!” Gale shouted. “9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… impact now!”
Those who fought during the previous conflict with the griffins experienced the most horrific flashback possible when the huge missile exploded in the port’s vicinity.
One huge massive fireball engulfed the area and dissolved into smaller ones, causing a true rain of destruction. Even though they were above the blast radius, Rainbow and her companions fearfully waited for any response from Captain Bluehaze. They tried contacting him after a few seconds as the dust begun dissipating.
What they saw was beyond their greatest nightmares. It seemed as if the entire 1st Fleet was vaporized. Ruined remains of several ships floated on the water. Only the three biggest ships, including Luminescence, were still operational, although greatly damaged. All weapons and cannons on the flagship’s entire main deck had been destroyed. The other, smaller vessels were completely in pieces, crumbling into the sea or having their decks wiped clean and set on fire.
“Luminescence, do you read? Please, respond,” Gale asked.
All they heard at first were grunts of pain, but Bluehaze’s voice soon became more coherent.
“I’m here. We survived… somehow. But the others are… gone. I can’t pick them on radar or reach them via communicator. Damn… what the hay was that?”
Rainbow Dash clashed her hooves with frustration. So they were just lying in wait and hoping to see the 1st Fleet leave the port so they could attack. But nopony even dreamed they would possess such a terrifying weapon…
“This is bad. Luminescence is completely defenseless. If they attack it now, they will sink it,” said Lightning Bolt. “Mirage 1, what should we do?”
Rainbow, instead of answering, looked at Fluttershy, who seemed to be in a state of deep shock.
“They…are gone…” she mumbled. “How could they…?”
“Do you see, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked her. “These guys aren’t like us. They will use whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. They only care about themselves. If we lose, they will take Equestria over! We have to stop them!”
Fluttershy looked at the carnage below, seeing bodies of several ponies floating lifelessly on the water. Tears flocked in her eyes as she closed them for a brief moment. Her expression changed drastically; she let out a piercing scream and flew to the nearest Exile squadron, knocking one of the pegasi out of the sky with a single hit. Much to surprise of both them and her allies, Fluttershy wasn't hesitant anymore.
“You… MONSTERS! I won’t let you… I won’t let you have your way!”
Firefly didn’t see that coming, even though she knew that Fluttershy could do some unexpected, if awesome things. The pink pegasus called to others to come and join her in the fight, while protecting the flagship and securing its escape route.
“Now that’s Butterfly I don’t wanna mess with. Come on girls, let’s teach those crooks a lesson!”
By Gale’s proposition, Luminescence and the two ships accompanying it decided to leave Fillydelphia and get to Stalliongrad for necessary repairs. The Wonderbolts, as well as Dragon, Burner and Racer squadrons joined Mirage in fighting against the enemy air forces, with Burner squadron occasionally provoking the Exile ships to attack them. This tactic allowed one of the other pegasi to conduct an attack run, using one of several bombs left in the armory of Luminescence to bomb the ship. However, these attack weren’t completely successful, as the other battleship tried throwing a couple of monkey wrenches into that plan by protecting other vessels with its anti-air barrage.
“That piece of junk is becoming a real pain in the tail!” Flare Star grumbled. “We gotta take it out!”
“I’ll go first,” Tornado Swirl announced. “Burner 2 and 3, follow my lead. Try to take out as many enemies as you can.”
The green pegasus decided to try and destroy those guns using his own. By circling around the ship and drawing its attention, it helped his wingmates in taking out a few Exile troops in direct confrontation. Additionally, he managed to disable most of AA guns, allowing the other pegasi to perform a saturation attack.
“They aren’t much of a threat now,” Tornado commented. “Let’s bring the rain!”
A group of about ten fliers, each carrying unguided bombs, dropped them one after the other, hitting several crucial points of the ship. Finally, Flare Star used the last bomb to deal a crippling blow in the ship’s middle section. She let out a gleeful yell of satisfaction when it had been ripped in half in a big explosion.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!”
The Exiles had no choice but to abandon ship, the core of their invading fleet destroyed. Their air forces could not stop the Racer squadron from destroying the last two landing ships, using guided penetration bombs. Since the danger of their attacks being unsuccessful wasn’t present anymore, they could go all out. That attack was another success for the soldiers of EAF.
However, more troubles loomed on the horizon…
“Gale to Mirage 1. I’m picking up four unknown contacts, heading in your direction. Most likely, another enemy squadron.”
“Roger that,” Rainbow Dash replied. “We’ll take them on. Spitfire, can you keep an eye on the others and help Luminescence withdraw from the area?”
“You got it.”
Rainbow called her friends to assemble. Derpy’s wounds were already treated by Wind Whistler, so she was ready to assist. Medley noticed four opponents approaching.
“Visual on bandits.”
“They may be trying to finish off Luminescence,” said Rainbow. “We need to keep them away from it until it reaches open waters.”
“Roger!”
Just as the enemy squadron approached them, they suddenly increased their speed, passing through the Mirage fliers. But they weren’t targeting the flagship. The four pegasi dispersed and started fighting Rainbow’s team.
Lightning Bolt and Cloud Kicker faced against a purple pegasus whose mane had a darker shade of that color. He seemed quite skilled and easily managed to outmaneuver both fliers, much to their surprise.
“Whoa, he’s fast. I can barely keep up with him,” Cloud Kicker exclaimed.
Though Lightning found a small opening in his flight pattern, he immediately corrected his mistake by lowering his altitude and dodging the white mare’s punch.
“Bastard slipped right by me. These guys are good.”
Medley had troubles chasing the smallest member. The yellow pegasus kept acting extremely obnoxious, constantly mocking the young flier.
“Come, on, come on! Try and catch me! You’re no match for Trickster!”
When he blew a raspberry in Medley’s face, she lost patience.
“Why, you little—”
“Look out, Kid, behind you!” Lightning Bolt called out.
Medley turned around and noticed the purple pegasus flying at her.
“I have you now!”
“I don’t think so!”
Lightning Bolt flew from the side, hitting her opponent in the back and causing him to abandon his attempt. If it weren’t for Lightning’s interference, Medley could have been knocked out of the sky.
“Thanks, Thunder. And, sorry,” she stammered.
“Just keep an eye around you. They aren’t your regular fliers.”
Medley fixed her sight on the pegasus that called himself Trickster, who kept laughing like a maniac. Something felt off about him, and she really started to hate his guts.
While Derpy kept being on equal footing with a tall blue pegasus, both Firefly and Rainbow Dash were taking on the black-coated leader of the squadron. Despite being outnumbered two to one, he could telegraph their moves and avoid most of them.
“Is this the best you can do? You will never beat us like this,” he spoke with sinister voice, which, for some reason, reminded Firefly of Black Star.
“Who are you to talk?” Rainbow asked.
The black-coated pegasus darted backwards and, in perfect synchronization, his teammates came along to his side. He lifted his gaze at Rainbow Dash, as the other fliers assembled around her as well.
“We are the servants of Lady Aurora. We are the Reapers. We will be your death.”
Rainbow wasn’t impressed by his boast.
“In your dreams!”
The fight resumed. Thanks to their unpredictable flight pattern, the Reapers managed to stay one step ahead of Mirage. Luckily, Rainbow could easily adapt to their strategy and, with a little help, they eventually caught on. Avoiding the enemy attacks became easier. Medley even hit Trickster a couple of times, annoying him.
Just as the black-coated pegasus was about to charge straight at Rainbow, he heard a voice in his communicator.
“Deathwing, that’s enough. The enemy flagship is about to leave the area. Return to the Warbird. You did well by buying us time. Now we will put our foe to the real test.”
“... Understood.”
He cut the transmission and called to his comrades.
“Shockwave, Havoc, Trickster. We are going back. We’re done here.”
“What?!” Trickster yelled. “I’m just getting started.”
“Don’t argue with me. It’s a direct order from Lady Aurora.”
Trickster still seemed a bit frustrated about it, but he didn’t protest.
“Well, at least that was fun,” said the tall blue pegasus.
Rainbow didn’t knew what was going on, so she called out to Deathwing.
“What, you’re running away?”
He slowly turned around to face her and let out a smirk.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Rainbow Dash. Even if it’s only to say, farewell.”
That sentence left the blue pegasus puzzled. The Mirage squadron didn’t give chase after the enemy. They regrouped and asked Gale to analyze the area for any other enemy activity. While he reported nothing at first, he noticed the same signal briefly appearing on his radar away from the combat area. It seemed like a submarine unit, preparing to launch another missile attack. He went ahead to identify it. Then, cold sweat started dripping from his forehead.
“They are preparing another attack!”
“But Luminescence already left the area,” Cloud Kicker pointed out.
“They are not aiming for the flagship anymore… but for the city,” Gale explained with a grim tone. “It’s going to be a cruise missile.”
“WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “They are planning to nuke the city?!”
“We’ve got to stop the launch!” Medley screamed.
“There’s less than 30 seconds left. Besides, the unit is beyond your range. You wouldn’t make it.”
Gale sounded resigned, as if he was utterly defeated, not seeing any ray of hope. However, Rainbow Dash had no intention to surrender. She contacted Tornado Swirl.
“Burner 1, come in!”
“I read you.”
“You still have those machine guns with you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“How much ammo left?”
“About 200 bullets. I’ve managed to shoot down a few enemy fliers and—”
“I need you to give them to me,” Rainbow interrupted him.
Tornado paused, seemingly surprised about that request.
“Say what?”
“Just do it!” Rainbow exclaimed. “There’s no time to argue!”
As she reached the green pegasus, he slowly unstrapped the machine guns from his back and showed Rainbow how to wear them. Gale contacted her.
“Mirage 1, what are you planning on doing?”
The initial answer was a sound of belt being strapped around the blue pegasus’ back.
“I’m going to shoot that missile down.”
“You’re crazy!” Cloud Kicker blurted. “Those missiles can go more than 800 kilometers per hour! You’ll never make it!”
“Seems like you don’t know me that well,” Rainbow responded.
Her teammates were concerned and advised Rainbow Dash to forget about it. But she could not ignore that danger. While they could escape, the ponies in Fillydelphia had no idea about the incoming missile.
“If that thing hits Fillydelphia, the city is history! Think of how many ponies will die! It ain’t happening! Not while I’m around! Gale, give me a vector on that missile!”
After a brief silence, the Wonderbolt operator downloaded necessary data and transferred it to Rainbow’s communicator. The missile had already been launched, and it would reach the city within two minutes. Rainbow started heading in its direction.
“You’re gonna have to destroy it at close range, Rainbow. It’s up to you. You only have one attempt.”
“That’s all I need.”
Her friends also cheered for her and it gave Rainbow additional resolve to destroy the cruise missile. Despite having limited ammunition and taking into account that getting too close could be devastating for her, due to slipping behind missile’s wake and the heat wave from its exhaust, Rainbow was determined to stop it.
She came across her target after a couple of seconds of flying away from Bridle Shores.
“Radar contact. I’m going after it.”
Rainbow allowed the missile to pass her by, then she instantly turned around and started a mad chase after it. The closer she got, the greater the heat was.
“You’re in gun range, Mirage 1. Shoot that missile down!”
The blue pegasus begun firing machine guns at the metallic construction. It was a bit difficult for her to aim due to the intense velocity and the fact that the guns were a bit heavy, but she did managed to damage the missile a bit. But it was still heading for Fillydelphia.
“We’re running out of time!” Gale exclaimed.
“Come on, come on…!” Rainbow grumbled.
The heat wave started to get to her and weaken her sight. Yet, she kept shooting. Only 100 bullets left. She was getting desperate. She had to shoot it down.
Rainbow got even closer, almost feeling her face burning.
Seventy bullets.
Now she was shooting blindly, screaming in pain.
Fifty bullets.
Rainbow could barely see the city before her. She heard Gale saying that the missile was near impact. This was her last chance. She fired at the exhaust.
The missile started heading off course. A few seconds later, it blew up above the city. Rainbow, despite being a safe distance, had difficulties with stabilizing her flight. The force of the explosion was quite powerful. She managed to reach her communicator.
“Target destroyed!”
“Destruction of cruise missile confirmed! Well done, Mirage 1!”
“You’re the mare, Rainbow!” Medley shouted.
The other fliers surrounded her as they watched the small remains of missile fall down to the ground. Rainbow’s face suffered small burns due to great heat and her vision seemed limited, as she had trouble reaching Firefly with her arm. Instead, the pink flier got closer so she could give her a hug.
“That was some move, taking out that missile, Rainbow!” Lightning Bolt congratulated her. “You’re the best there is!”
“I’m sorry I ever doubted in you,” said Cloud Kicker. “You totally rocked!”
“Hey, that’s our job, isn’t it?” Rainbow asked casually, rubbing her eyes. Everything seemed a little foggy to her.
Ultimately, the city of Fillydelphia was saved. Still, the casualties sustained by EAF were severe. Almost the entirety of the 1st Fleet, save for Luminescence and two other ships, the pegasus carrier Daybreak, and another battleship, Nightfall, had been destroyed. Only those three managed to survive. The pegasi forces didn’t lose any fliers, but many of them were wounded. On the other hand, a majority of invading enemy forces had been destroyed, and the remaining units were forced to retreat.
Unfortunately, that celebration didn’t last long. Gale informed them that it was all just a diversion. A much bigger fleet group managed to break through the southern border and reached their destination. Any defenders who tried to resist eventually had to fall back. Some ground forces suffered losses. Despite their success, Rainbow wasn’t satisfied, as the Exiles still managed to invade Equestria.
They won the battle, but the war had only just begun.
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So....you've put Seekers into the thing. I almost expected one of them to boast about how no one can defeat his master Megatron.
Dang, you beat me to the fourth Chapter.
Anyway, I'm liking the fight scenes so far and hope you use that machine gun pod (MGP) wisely in the story. I like how you use Beast Squadron's theme for the Reapers' introduction. :)
Also, is that a nuclear warhead or a Trinity warhead?
3478189
That warhead is stylized after Trinity, so it can be considered a cruise missile with the power of a nuke, but without nuclear radiation.
First thing that seems off is you use "will"s in weird spots, and most of the time the sentence would flow better if it wasn't there. Other than that: Huzzah for Best Ace Combat!
My first reaction when I saw THE NAME was "holy Celestia they are in trouble"
That was close! Good going, Rainbow.
Wasn't expecting the first real fight to all be a diversion; that was a big twist.
Fish any survivors out of the water, and burn tail to the south! Get to it,Mirage!
AC 5 mission yay!
Oh...the Scinfaxi huh? Well, damn.
Silver out!
Yet another brilliantly-written chapter, P.V. Rainbow Dash and her crew are definitely being put through their paces.
Kinda hoping that Black Star appears and tries to help out against this new threat. The reason I say that is because he got off WAY too easily even though he supplied the heroes with vital information to end the first.
In other words, he still has a long way to go before he is officially redeemed in my eyes. Especially since he just shrugged off all he did and treats everything so damn casually. Yeah, he should bleed for redemption instead of thinking doing some good deed makes up for all the bad ones he's done.
3856534
Black Star's road to redemption is actually being explored in my spin-off of this story here Ace Combat: Gryphon Wings. Sorry for the shameless advertising, just letting you know.
I'm guessing those were Exile survivors being taken prisoner?
4275325
Nah, man. They were taken by their own, away from combat zone, even after most fleet was already down.