A Documentary
September 22nd, 2005
Canterlot, Equestria
“I’m sorry, Princess,” the ambassador said.
“Please, there must be something you can do,” Princess Celestia begged. “You don’t understand how dire our situation is.”
For one who claimed to be able to control the sun, Princess Celestia wasn’t making a very big impression on the human ambassador. The meeting hadn’t been politics of any nature; it had been Celestia pleading with him for any kind of help for her nation. It didn’t really look good, but it was pretty much all she could do, and it was actually rather of sad. He could probably drop a coin on the floor from his pocket and she would take it.
“I do understand war, ma’am; we just finished one,” the human in the suit said from his seat in the room. “That war is the reason the Independent State of Allied Forces cannot help you.”
“I know this, but there has to be something! I fail to see why you wish to see my nation and its ponies conquered by our enemy!” she shot back.
“I don’t, no one does. But we truly have almost nothing left between garrisoning Erusia and conducting normal military duties. The Usean Continent has been shattered by natural and manmade disasters.”
It wasn’t entirely true, be honest; they could probably spare a couple planes or troops to go over, but what good would they do? It would just be a pointless waste in a vain war. Between the Ulysses asteroid blanketing the planet with meteorites and the Usean Continental War ending just last week after two years, they had wasted enough already.
“I’m sorry, but we have to take care of ourselves first.”
“I understand,” Celestia responded, calling for her guards. “Guards, please escort the ambassador out of the castle and back to his aircraft.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the guards in golden armor replied, leading the human out.
Before he exited the room, the human looked back through the door again.
“For what it’s worth, I do wish you the best of luck.”
“Thank you,” Celestia replied, watching the human step out again. “Unfortunately, wishes will be of no use, right now. Luck, hopefully; but that does not seem to be with us, either.”
Sulkily getting up herself, she trotted to another door that led to the castle’s main hallway. The castle seemed quite depressing lately. In fact, Celestia looked rather depressing, having lost a look of brightness that she had always carried.
Though with the recent situation, it was hard not to be depressed. The capitol was the only major city still in their hands, no nation had come to their aid, and it was more than likely the whole of Equestria would now fall under the banner of this new empire.
“It was a stupid idea,” Celestia told herself. “Teleporting to some random world to ask for help; who would want to help a bunch of aliens who fell out of the sky, anyways?”
The ISAF negotiations were the second-to-last that they had, and Luna was conducting the final one now. Their continent had fallen into the Ceres Ocean as an island when they first arrived. The two closest powers, Osea and Yuktobania, already had sour relations with each other, and weren’t in the mood for a new arrival.
She continued to berate herself as she strolled slowly down the dark hall. Though, it was a bit unfair; there wasn’t much else one could do at this point, or at any point looking back. Equestria did have to fight wars before, and usually it was against their old enemies like Griffons or Changelings; they knew how to fight them.
But these foes fought differently; their fighting, tactics, ferocity, mastery-at least in their world-of conventional, non-magic weapons. All these were different from what any had seen before. They had been nothing more than another uncoordinated race, but now they had come together under one king, and were claiming Equestria as part of their new country.
The Sphinx, with its natural flight and lion’s body, was a deadly foe. Its head was shaped oddly, looking reminiscent to the humans of this world, but the coat that covered its body covered the head as well, not leaving its skin showing and guaranteeing a full-body color of bright gold-yellow, save for the wings. Though they seemed similar to Griffons at first, they were far smarter than most of those; perhaps it had something to do with the head.
“Sister!”
Celestia’s thoughts were interrupted as her younger sister, Princess Luna, met her in the hall.
“Luna, how was your end of the negotiations?”
“Bad, I’m afraid,” she said.
If nothing else, Celestia could at least be happy that her sister had limited the royal speech for the formal situations.
“Emmeria will not assist us, either?” she asked.
“They say that they do not wish to waste their soldier’s lives in a futile war,” Luna explained.
“This was a foolish idea, Luna,” Celestia admitted. “We should have known that none here would be willing to help a nation that is already overrun. The Sphinx have even begun importing weapons and equipment from them to use against us! If anything it made our situation worse!”
“It is alright, Tia,” her sister comforted her. “Nopony holds you to blame for this, there is nothing more to do.”
It truly hurt Celestia that she was totally powerless now. All she could do was watch her cities get flattened by those human-made bombers, the fields run over by those massive tanks, and her ponies, who she loved dearly, get shot and killed by those powerful guns. That was truly it; and before she knew it, Canterlot would fall to the same fate.
“I suppose we should go tell Twilight and her friends, now,” Celestia sighed. “Could you fetch the rest of them and meet me at her room, Luna?”
“Of course.”
Luna went one direction while Celestia went the other. Counting the doors as she went, she finally arrived at her pupil’s room. Before entering, she stood there and thought of how she would be able to tell Twilight. Luckily, Twilight spoke first, opening the door.
“Oh Princess, I’m so glad you’re here!” she said happily, which more or less to Celestia aback.
“Yes, Twilight; we need to talk.”
“Yes, we do; find a seat, quick!” she said, levitating several books and papers back into neat piles in the room. “Are the others coming?”
“Yes,” she replied in a confused tone. “Twilight, what are you-”
“Sorry, Princess, but I’ll explain when the others arrive.”
At that same time, Luna and the other five Elements entered the room.
“Um, Twi, are you alright?” Applejack asked.
“Yes, yes; just find a seat,” she urged, and began talk about what she had seen. “You remember the TV I got, right?”
“The human television, yes,” Celestia replied.
It amazed her how they had barely been here a week and her student had already acquired one, and learned how to use it.
“Well, I was watching this documentary about a war that took place a decade ago,” she explained. “Some of the main people that were being interviewed were mercenaries.”
“What’s a mercenary?” Dash asked.
“I’m glad you asked,” Twilight said. “A mercenary is basically a soldier that you can hire to fight for you.”
“A soldier who fights only for payment?” Luna asked.
“Yes, princess.”
“That sounds quite dishonorable…and dangerous.”
“Maybe,” Twilight replied, “but they may be the only ones who we could possibly find to help us.”
“So, you believe that we can simply buy some humans to fight for us?” Celestia asked.
“Basically, yes. The problem is that there aren’t many of them, at least not enough to make a significant difference,” she explained. “But, I’m thinking that we could find a few that are skilled enough to do so.”
“Are you sure about this, Twilight?”
“That’s where the film comes in,” she explained. “I recorded it for you guys to see as proof. Just watch.”
She clicked on the power button and the medium-sized television screen lit up. The first thing to show was the broadcasting network; Osean Broadcasting Corporation. Following that was the documentary’s title; Warriors and the Belkan War. Last was a small line of words on the screen.
25 Nov., 2005. Near a disputed border.
The shot then presented a single human, with brown hair and white skin, dressed in rather raggedy clothes. He was sitting along on a chair, in a large room of a shattered building, cradling an AK-47. The only light provided was the sunlight, shining down from holes in the ceiling.
“Oh him?” he said. “Yea, I know him. It’s going to take a while…it happened years ago.”
He paused slightly for a moment.
“Who is this guy?” Rainbow asked, receiving a ‘shhh!’ from Twilight as the human spoke again.
“Did you know there are three kinds of aces?” he asked, counting on his thumb and to fingers. “Those who seek strength, those who live for pride, and those who could read the tide of battle; those are the three. And him, he was a true ace.”
“He was a fighter pilot they called ‘Solo Wing Pixy’,” the narrator stated. “He was a colleague of the man I seek.”
The screen went back to black as the narrator continued.
“Ten years ago, there was a war the engulfed the world; the Belkan War. And in that war, there was a pilot who trailed across the sky, then disappeared from history. He was a lone mercenary who inspired both fear and admiration.”
The scree showed a black and white photograph of two F-15C Eagle fighters banking right in tandem.
“He is the man I seek. And so, with the words of ‘Solo Wing’, the curtain rises.”
The picture returned to the soldier.
“It was a cold and snowy day…”
The documentary went on for some time, telling of how the war began and panned out. How Belka had overrun much of the country of Ustio, whose military had to be rebuilt partially with mercenaries. Eventually, it told of how Pixy and his wingman had succeeded in throwing them back.
‘Solo Wing Pixy’ was part of a squadron that consisted of only two aircraft. It was him, and his flight lead; known only by the name of ‘Cipher’. The enemy aces that were interviewed had a different name for him; ‘The Demon Lord’.
“I could tell he was good, and that it was going to be bad for us.”
“Every now and then guys like that appear on a battlefield, y’know?”
“Why did I lose to him?”
The film continued to chronicle the events of the war. Belka was pushed out of the land she had conquered, and was soon invaded herself. Even the use of the most hi-tech experimental weapons could not stop him; nor could the aces of their air force, who continued to speak of their encounters.
“And when I saw him, I could tell my time was done.”
“I figured the least I can do was take them down in return. Of course…that was where my luck ran out.”
“I’d love to fly with him again someday.”
“Wow, he must’ve been good,” Rainbow commented as the screen returned to the soldier, who seemed to answer her question.
“Every time I flew with him, his skill stood out.”
The final piece of the show documented the war’s worst parts. It showed how Belka had used nuclear weapons to halt the allied forces, and how a humiliating peace was forced upon them. It also showed what ‘Solo Wing’ thought of that; betraying his former wingman to pursue his own set of ideals. And finally, it spoke of how the safety of the world was threatened by a terrorist organization angry at the use of borders. But, even these firm believers in their cause were fearful of the ‘Demon’.
“’Demon Lord’ was right; everything he touched fell apart.”
“He was not the reason we were unable to change the world.”
“The gate to the new world has been opened.”
“And here the curtain falls on our story,” the narrator said. “However, the does not mean their own stories came to an end.”
The final scene went back to that of Pixy, still sitting there with his rifle; his name finally revealed as Larry Foulke. Over the course of the interview, his mood had changed for each action he remembered. Now, recounting his final battle with his former friend, he seemed rather depressed.
“I should have died that day, but I didn’t,” he explained. “I dragged my wounded body and reached ground zero of the nuclear detonations; a barren empty land. There were still people living there, they were the ones that saved me.”
He continued explaining what he had learned, seeming to finally realize reality.
“I’m still on the battlefield, right now I’m near a border. I want to see for myself what borders really mean, and what their volition really is,” he said hopefully. “I may not find what I’m looking for, but I still want to try.”
He paused for a moment, in deep thought.
“Anyways, that’s what I’ve come to believe and I think that’s enough,” he said, looking up. “Will he see this video? If you do meet him, give him a message for me.”
He stared into the camera, with a smile on his face.
“Yo buddy, still alive?” he asked, the questions recipient being obvious. “And thanks, friend; see you again.”
The final shots were that of an F-15 flying in to land on an airstrip as the narrator ended the film.
“The Demon Lord of the Round Table; a warrior who soared through the Belkan War, inspiring both fear, and admiration. His presence filled the skies for but a few short months before he disappeared. Apart from that, nothing is known about him. I was never able to find out what kind of a person he really was; but whenever they talked about him, they always had a slight smile on their faces. That, perhaps, may be my answer.”
Twilight stopped the documentary, pausing the television. Every face in the room had a look of great interest and curiosity. Mixed in there somewhere was a sense of hope, of real, true hope.
“So, you believe that we should try to find these mercenaries?” Luna asked.
“It’s the only thing we can do. It will take a lot of convincing, and money, but I think we can do it.”
“How do you propose we do so? The interviewer stated that he could not find one of them.”
“I was doing some more research on these pilots,” Twilight explained. “The one by the name of Larry Foulke should still be where he is, as the war he was fighting in ended just a short time ago. If someone goes now, we may be able to catch him.”
“And this ‘Demon’?”
“I did have trouble finding real data on him, but I was able to contact the government of the country he was hired by, Ustio, and also found records on another squad in the same unit that fought with him.”
“Do you think we should enlist that squadron, as well?” Celestia asked.
“Well, it couldn’t hurt, Princess. All of its members are still alive and their locations are known, but back to the point at hand,” she said. “The only other thing they could confirm about this ‘Cipher’ pilot was that his nationality was Erusian.”
“Ain’t that the same country that just lost the war last week?” Applejack asked.
“Precisely, and as with the Belkan War, the ISAF was pushed to the brink of destruction, and had to hire mercenaries to fill their ranks, like Pixy.”
“I am sorry, Twilight. I don’t understand where you are taking this,” Celestia said.
“I went through a list of mercenaries that were hired by ISAF during the war, and there was an ace pilot in the list that was of Erusian nationality, one who’s kill score rivaled that of even their top ace, Mobius.” she explained. “He was the only Erusian mercenary in ISAF.”
“Do you think it could be him?”
“I hope so; it does seem like more than just a coincidence,” Twilight responded. “The records show he is still stationed at a place called Allenfort Air Base in the ISAF country of North Point. But, his contract is due to expire soon.”
“Then we must hurry if we have a chance at this,” Celestia said, with a new sense of urgency.
“I already have maps with their locations marked on them.”
“Excellent, Twilight,” Celestia said, turning to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, you must go and find Pixy; I will have Soarin track down the Demon, and I will arrange for Spitfire to go to Ustio and find the members of the other squadron.”
“Ok, what should I tell him?” Dash asked.
"Whatever it takes to get him here; we must convince them to fight for us, otherwise are doomed to destruction.”
A tribute to all of Ace Combat and it's fans. 
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think.
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What, no Razgriz?
3374562
It does say 'Trilogy', doesn't it?
3374709 Touche.
>Mercenaries
>No Scarface Squadron
Wat.
3374722
Don't get too far ahead of yourself, George.
REALLY GOOD, just keep them as silent protagonist.
3375518
I prefer it that way, it leaves the character's true personality up to the player (or reader in this case). I think i'll use Pixy and the others as the main source of narrative and info.
i like this story but i hop you update Team Yankee soon keep up the good work
3380511
I'm planning on it. It's been too long for it.
3380556 agreed your story got me reading on this site and my first favourite
3380716
Thank you. Feels nice to make an influence.
BEST. FANFIC. EVER.
MOAR
I think I finally found a piece of heaven...