Nearing the Edge

by Eagle

Shadows

April 26th, 2006
1830 Hours
Everfree Air Force Base

Source

As chaotic as the war had been, the situation was beginning to stabilize. The primary worry among those in the theatre was the central line breach, which had been stopped just barely but was still a massive threat that could precipt total collapse. Likewise, the war on the sea and in the sky were only slightly better.

In the air war, the Bloc still held the advantage. Their bombers still attacked Equestrian cities and military targets, but fighters were still rising to meet them. Though they held air superiority, it was far from complete. The various air force units could still hold on and fight back, and they were preventing their enemy’s air power from striking decisive blows.

During this time Rainbow Dash spoke with Spitfire for the first time since the war had begun, speaking with her over the phone in preparation for a joint operation their squadrons would be enacting soon. Badly struck and having suffered extensive material losses in the early hours of the war, the Wonderbolts has abandoned their Academy near Cloudsdale and retreated to an auxiliary field well past Canterlot to the southeast. Only had they begun receiving replacement Super Hornets, slowly returning to a modicum of strength.

Despite this, Dash was happy to learn that pilot losses had been exceptionally low. Only one pony was killed, dying on the ground from a missile strike in the first attack. No others had been lost, despite numerous sorties by the few remaining jets. It put testament to Spitfire’s tactics and skill, both of her own and that which she passed on to her subordinates.

It was a simple mission, she said. The Americans had succeeded in holding their primary line running along the continent, the Paradigm Line, with the one exception of a gap that the Shadow Military had forced open in the central sector. The 5th Infantry Division had halted any further advance and the situation was still very fluid; as such this was the weakest area, and was still being attacked by aircraft on the regular. The Bolt and Rainbow Squadrons would rendezvous with units from the American 2nd and 12th Fighter Squadrons and enact a fighter sweep over the area, both to clean it for the time and as a show of force. Neither side as of yet was able to assault the other and it became a matter of which could gather strength quicker.

Rainbow said nothing to her about the encounter with Gilda. Part of her wanted to believe it would not be important, but she knew that would not be the case. That same part almost drove her to go speak with Twilight on the subject; speaking with her seemed like the best course of action over the issue of having to fight and old friend. In the end, however, she relented, partly over not wanting to further concern her busy friend but truthfully because she did not want to hear the likely advice she would give.

When the time came, Rainbow selected four additional members of her squadron, Stone Tail, Jackpot, Rivet, and Snow Slide, to form a wing while the others remained at the base. Her flight, along with one from the 2nd, headed off in the late hours of the afternoon. They arrived at near the same time as Spitfire’s group, just as they had planned.

“Rainbow One, are you reading me, over?” she called out to them.

“Yeah, we can hear you, Bolt,” Dash answered her old commander.

“No trouble getting here, huh?”

“Nope, nothing so far.”

“Good. Beagle, Knife, SITREP please.”

“Knife team, all fighters accounted for,” the first American flight answered.

“Beagle Three-One here, I just had to send back one of my guys from a fuel leak, he should make it alright though.”

“Understood… uh, Rainbow One did you pass an AWACS on your way here?” Spitfire asked curiously.

“No, why? I thought one was supposed to meet us here.”

“It was, but… I’m not seeing it on the radar,” the Wonderbolts Captain observed as the pilots switching over to the E-3’s reported radio frequency. “Bolt One to Jellyfish, are you reading us over?”

No reply came in the dead air.

“Repeat this is Bolt One. Jellyfish, are you reading me, over?”

“AWACS Jellyfish this is Knife Three-One, US Air Force. If you can read this please respond and we’ll authenticate,” one of the human pilots tried, being more explicit. “Jellyfish, Knife Three-One. Armchair, repeat, armchair… Jellyfish please authenticate… please respond.”

The worried pilots finally received a reply, but it was not from the AWACS operator. It was a female’s voice, confident, almost tauntingly so, cold and menacing. It was not a voice that any of the Americans were familiar with, but a few of the ponies found it chillingly familiar.

“We can hear you,” a voice sang over the radio. “Can you hear us?”

“What? Who is this?” Rainbow asked.

“This is Beagle Three-One, identify yourself!” the American pilot demanded.

“You can, good. You can ask your Equestrian friends, they know us,” the Night Pony said. “I don’t think they’ll do us justice with their sad, stuttering introductions. We are the Shadowbolts, a team of legend flying before you. A squadron dedicated to the Nightmare.”

“Shadowbolts? What kind of stupid-ass name is that?” the American asked.

“What!? No way!” Spitfire shrieked. “That can be you! You’re lying!”

“What the Hell is your problem!? You see a ghost? Or is this unit supposed to be your evil twin?” Beagle asked. “Hey, how the fuck did you get on our frequency!? All fighters switch to tactical frequency three, ASAP!”

“That’s not going to do you any good, human.”

“I’m getting real sick of your shit-talking!” the American shot back. “Who are you!?”

“Rainbow Dash, I heard you’re here as well,” the enemy’s voice continued. “We’ve both come a long way from that New Year’s meeting haven’t we?”

“Shadowbolts… Nightingale?”

“You’ve changed a lot since we first met, when you and your friends banished Nightmare Moon,” Nightingale recounted. “You must remember that little adventure don’t you? You and your little group of new friends off on a quest through the woods at night, carrying it out at the whim of your Princess.”

“You never disappeared when we rescued Princess Luna,” the Equestrian realized, putting the image of the adventure and her meeting on New Year’s Eve together. “I knew I recognized you! If I had known I would’ve knocked you out right there! You caused this! Everything!”

“You were so loyal to your friends that night,” Nightingale continued. “And look at you now. Fighting a war instead of enjoying peace with them, using a human machine instead of your wings, flying to kill other ponies instead of bringing them happiness. Did you ever think you would be in such a strange world as this?”

“It won’t stay like this! Me and my friends will beat you again! And we’ll find a way to go back too!”

“Alright cut the drama bullshit!” Knife Three-One injected. “Beagle team swing far around to their right, Knife team follow me out to the left! Equestrians engage them immediately from BVR! We’ll pin them down and pinch them!”

The two flights of Eagles pulled away, leaving the Equestrians to engage with long-range missiles. Some attempted this, but getting a proper lock-on to the distant targets was more difficult than usual, and the few that were achieved were lost when their targets dived to the ground. A few frustrated Equestrians fired their AMRAAMs without a lock, but achieved no success beyond some far-off views of flares and afterburners appearing as lights in the darkening sky.

Miles away, the Shadowbolts were having no issues as they began to slowly close in on their enemy, easily dodging their missiles all the while. Ten Su-37s, far more advanced than what any pilot on the Allied side believed, drove in towards their counterparts, the dark sky hiding their war paint of deep blue and dark purple. The dark fighters continued their twisting, ominous move towards the Equestrians.

“Beagle Three-One turning in now! Going for radar- shit! I’m lit up!”

“Beagle Three-Two here, they’ve got more fighters waiting for us!” another of the F-15C pilots warned.

“Damn it, they’re jumping us too!” the leader of Knife flight shouted. “They’re low! Behind the terrain waiting for us! Take them out!”

“Knife Three-Three, lead! Paco! Three-Two is hit! Shifty’s down!” one of the other wingman panicked. “I saw it, we got Flippers! Ye-8s! Watch them!”

A number of the single-engined fighters appeared, assailing both of the flanking American groups. Their commander was not a Night Pony like the Shadowbolts, nor was he as well known, though his team’s skill was clearly comparable as the Americans were forced into defensive maneuvers. Nor did he have issues with speaking and taunting his enemy over the radio, either.

“Nightingale, Cuervo Squadron is engaging. We should have them dealt with in a few minutes.”

“Thank you Knife, try to wrap it up quickly so you can join the fun over here.”

“Is that some new lackey of yours?” Rainbow queried.

“I am a Shadow, not a Night Pony, Rainbow Dash, and I am here of my own will,” the Ye-8 pilot shot back. “One of the many your queen banished so long ago. The name I took up, to all of you Equestrians and your disgusting allies, is Hot Knife. A simplistic name but one I will make known in the new Shadow Empire. One ponies will remember, not like your human friends dirtying it, using it as their callsign. I’ll be glad to wipe them from the night skies!”

“You really think Nightingale isn’t holding you? She won’t let you get far,” Spitfire claimed. “You’re not going to get as far as you think!”

“Jesus shut it! There’s not this much chatter in a fucking fight!” Knife Three-One interrupted, though his demand was cut short. “Shit, missile inbound! Evad-”

“Americans have no respect except for themselves,” Hot Knife insulted as the last of Knife Flight’s F-15Cs fell into the mud of the Earth. “Cuervo Two-One, our group has been destroyed. Expedite you work on the right.”

“Understood One, there’s only a single enemy left, another broke away already after he was damaged. This will not last much longer.”

“Good, I’d like to see if these famous Equestrian fighters can fly as well as I’ve been told.”

“What’s your deal with us you creep!?” Rainbow demanded. “What do you hate me for!?”

“My vendetta isn’t personal, it’s with all of your kind and country,” Knife commented. “I’m not sure if that makes it personal regardless, but I don’t care. This is about what your ponies, your princesses and nation did to mine. But personal fights are about skill and will.”

“Revenge isn’t going to help anything!”

“My war is about retribution, not revenge, you young fool,” Knife claimed. “If you want to put your skill up against mine I will show you how mistaken you are. You’re not better from the stories of boasting I’ve heard of you, I’ll show you what a personal zeal to a just reason can do!”

“You might get that another day, Knife,” Nightingale stopped him. “Tonight we will be dealing with them.”

The Shadow Team’s fighters finally merged with their enemies in a large dogfight. The Equestrians found it difficult to visually spy their enemy’s planes in the growing darkness, save for the fires of the engines when they were lit up. Even their modern technology, it felt as though the green target boxes were centered around nothing. The Equestrians even fired off three Sidewinders at hard lock-ons, but there was no result against the enemy’s tighter turning, outrunning, countermeasures and various other skills.

The results were quickly becoming apparent now as the frantic Equestrians were picked off. One of Dash’s flight, Rivet, found himself diving at a high speed to escape two closing Flankers, only to stumble into the line of a third when he pulled up sharply, receiving a missile in the belly of of his F-16. Half a minute later Snow Slide was also lost, keeping up defensively with two of her own adversaries before the Night Pony Descent caught her trying to sharply reduce speed in a right turn and riddled the Falcon with cannon fire from nose to tail.

“Rainbow, this is going bad!” Spitfire yelled.

“Yeah I know!”

“We have to break away!” she ordered. “Dive and evade, and keep dropping flares! Don’t fly straight and just get out! Forget about fuel! Bolts, prepare to disengage!”

“Alright, we have to get out of here!” Rainbow told her flight. “All Rainbows dive and run, doesn’t matter what direction! Just get away as quick as you can!”

Spitfire watched the Hornets and Falcons now break away, abandoning the battle. She noticed one of the Wonderbolt Super Hornets, the one belonging to Thorn, dueling with one of the Flankers, and from the radio chatter it seemed to be their leader, Nightingale herself. The two had been fighting since the merger, attacking, countering, and countering again to mark each-other’s move. The Wonderbolt commander focused on outwitting and shaking off the bandits on her tail, though she kept on eye on her wingpony.

Thorn dragged his adversary down to a lower level, with Nightingale tailing him. With the air brakes, the Wonderbolt pilot lagged the plane and caused the Shadow Squadron leader to pass him in a pursuit roll, which was to be rectified only seconds later when him opponent enacted a similar maneuver and forced the Equestrian to overshoot. After doing so, Thorn elected to increase speed and push forward, putting some ground between Nightingale and him.

The Equestrian then banked hard to his right as his opponent began to catch up. He yanked the aircraft back and up, intent on pulling into a High Yo-Yo. Once Nightingale passed, rather than following again, he would be able to put the engines to full and escape in the other direction. However, as he reached the apex of the climb and turned the craft downwards, he saw the dark Flanker turning up to meet him. Nightingale had seen this, anticipated it, and braked and turned hard to meet the descent head-on. The Su-37 achieved a missile lock and one of the weapons flew off, tearing into the night sky. With no time to react, the Hornet was struck directly on the nose, killing the pilot and obliterating the jet. The remains dropped into a wooded area below, the burning wreckage and fuel setting fire to some of the trees. Spitfire had been able to break away when she witnessed the final impact in horror, knowing there was no chance of survival.

“No! Thorn! No!” she yelled, torn by her comrade’s loss. “No! That can’t happen! How… how did I let this happen!? Everypony get out now! Run now! Eject if you need to, just find a way to escape!”

“You’re pitiful! Just look at what you’ve allied yourselves with,” said the Nightingale as she taunted Spitfire and Dash. “They can’t even fly themselves, they’re not natural. They don’t belong in the sky like us. Ponies like us were born in it on the clouds. Those humans are just pervading it.”

“Shut up! Don’t talk to her,” Dash warned her friends. “Just get away!”

“Why are you bothering with them Commander?” Descent wondered aloud.

“She can have fun if she wants,” his wingpony, High Drag, retorted. “I’m having fun, she’s having fun, why don’t you have some fun?”

“She’s right about the humans anyways,” Low Drag added.

“Hunt them down but don’t burn all of your fuel. Unlike them I intend on getting all of our planes and pilots back to base,” their squadron leader interjected. “Sour, go with your flight and chase down that Falcon heading south. Blitz get that Hornet closest to you.”

Despite the chaos, the Equestrians were able to disengage relatively well, pushing off in a quick manner and successfully defeating any long-range missiles that came their way. It was neither easy nor organized, but the two squadrons were among the most skilled, and even against these superior opponents and it had showed. Unfortunately, the losses were still there, and they hurt badly.

Blitz, the fifth position in the Shadowbolts, had the best chance of running down his opponent. The lonely fleeing Hornet, belonging to a mare Wonderbolt called Jelly, was retreating northeast at full power, barely a hundred feet off the ground. Blitz kept the pace, the radar picking the target out amongst the ground clutter, and launching three of his improved Adder missiles in one great frenzy. Jelly, unable to outrun the missiles and with some high hills in the terrain ahead, performed a tight chandelle, banking the aircraft and dropping chaff and flares to distract the weapons. The third shot, however, had the fate of picking the Hornet out and slamming into it’s back at the midpoint of the maneuver. The jet’s body exploded, with no time to bail due to the extremely low altitude, and giving the elite Wonderbolts their second aerial casualty of the war.

“No! Not another one!” Spitfire cried out, jolting her plane as she heard the news. “No! Why’d this happen!? I’m supposed to keep them alive now… how!?”

“W-what’s happened… what did we do wrong,” Rainbow asked herself. “They’re better? But… oh what happened… I lost… No, I failed! I failed my wingponies! My friends! What am I supposed to do!?”

“You know the offer to join us is always open Dash. We have plenty of friends on this side, too,” Nightingale reminded her as she leveled her Flanker out.

Rainbow did not reply, her mind not finding the proper words to answer such a claim.

“And our comrades are real ones. Of course you would befriend those ridiculous creatures. Just like that one annoying squadron,” Nightingale remembered. “Ah… I did hear whispers about you being best buddies with them, their leader. I’ll look forward to meeting him myself.”

Rainbow felt her heart sink, her eyes glaze over. This had been a nightmare, but Cole flying against them could lead to worse results. He would not retreat unless needed, and not at all if his comrades were at risk. She had just barely escaped, but she did not want to see her friend killed should he encounter them. The American had always been worried about being lost in some specific fight, but never explained to anyone, not that she saw.

Regardless, she did not want it to happen. They would find a way to defeat them, perhaps they would get lucky. Maybe Celestia or Twilight could offer advice, but Rainbow did not want to see Cole fight them. If she could help it, she could not allow him to fight the Shadowbolt Squadron alone; she had to be there to help him. There would have to be a time to deal with the Night Ponies, but she could not stand the idea of Cole being lost alone in some suicidal stand against them in an unfavorable battlefield such as this, if he was even alive to make such a stand.

That final thought depressed Rainbow even further. Was Cole even still alive? She knew the base he was at had fared well, but losses were still heavy. His loss would not be widespread news, and she would not be on the list to hear of it. He could already be gone, lost several days before without her knowledge. She was not his family, she would count on his wingmen to tell her the news if she ever saw them again, but would she?

Would Dash simply go through the war till it’s end and never learn his fate? Would she ever see him again? She had to, she was loyal to her friends, and her friends loyal to her. She would have to see him again. She only hoped he would be alive in time for that moment, rather than it being his torn corpse lying soulless in a coffin.

“Shadowbolts, return to base. We can’t catch the rest of them but we’ve done enough,” Nightingale ordered her team, seeing the last Equestrian aircraft scatter from the airspace. “The rest will be up to the ground forces now. It’s their job to hold the breach they made.”

“Just let me chase them right to their base! I’ll shoot them down while they’re landing! Just what the cowards deserve!” Blitz claimed triumphantly.

“None of that tonight! We’ve done well enough, we need to be getting back.”

“No losses again, not even a scratch,” Descent noted.

“I didn’t expect any, and you all didn’t disappoint me. Good work Shadowbolts, we should be proud of that! And I’m proud of all of you myself,” their leader complimented. “That should teach them a lesson, the Night Ponies are true fliers and the Shadowbolts don’t lose a single one, not like our deranged cousins! Their sad little lying philosophy and their hypocritical deranged princesses won’t get them anywhere.”

“Nightingale, Cuervo One. AWACS Asteroid has declared the airspace clear. Do you require us to maintain CAP?”

“Negative, your performance was good as well, Cuervo.”

“Good, then we can go over details on our return.”

“I don’t want to spoil the moment with your debate, Knife, now return to base and leave us unless something important arises,” the Night Pony ordered in a curt tone, betraying her annoyance. “Shadow Ponies, you’re sometimes as bad as the Equestrians.”

Author's Note:

Comments

[Silentwoodfire]

Yaknow, those princesses have been absent as of late