• Published 7th May 2012
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Ace Combat: The Equestrian War - PolishValsion



Based on Namco's Ace Combat series of video games. No fighters or missiles, personal close combat.

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Chapter 2: Flash

A lone challenger returns to the land she called home,

Aware of the evil and determined to stop it.

Seeking trustworthy allies, she forms a team,

One that legends will revere in the future.

Chapter 2

"Flash"

October 10th, 2018

1022 hrs

Ponyville, Golden Oaks library


Twilight Sparkle, a purple unicorn with immense magical talent, was doing her everyday business. With the help of her dragon assistant, Spike, she was preparing for an errand around Ponyville. None of them had the slightest idea of what was going to happen quite soon. As Twilight finished packing, she decided to double-check everything.

“Scrolls… check. Pen and ink… check. List of what-to-do… check. It’s a good thing I’m so organized,” the purple unicorn said to herself.

“Spike!” she called her assistant.

“Are we ready to go? We have a lot of stuff to do.”

“Coming!” Spike’s voice could be heard from the upper room.

“But… uh… Twilight? Can you remind me why we are doing this?” he asked.

“Oh Spike, I already told you four times. The mayor asked me to run an errand, which consists of notifying all ponies about the upcoming winter. Everypony should be preparing to harvest food, so that they’ll have supplies until spring,”

“And until you’ll help with another Winter Wrap-Up, huh?” Spike asked Twilight.

“You bet I will,” the unicorn giggled a little.

“Now, let’s go before we- Spike?”

But before Twilight could finish her sentence, Spike suddenly held his mouth. Moments later, he breathed green fire and a letter magically formed before the two.

“Oh! It’s a letter from Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I wonder what she has to say.”

But as Spike took the letter and was about to read it, he noticed something unusual. This letter was given a “Lunar Seal”, a sign that it was written by Celestia’s sister, Luna. Spike pointed it out to Twilight, who urged the dragon to read the context of the letter without hesitating any longer. Spike checked the letter and read out loud:

“Dear Twilight Sparkle, I’m writing to you, as I have a very important task for you. As you probably know, the neighboring Griffin Kingdom had recently made several fortifications around their borders and started doing what appears to be military training. I fear the worst. Also, our aces from Cloudsdale, the Wonderbolts, have been attacked by two griffins a few hours ago. They sustained heavy wounds, but are alive.

Because of this, my sister and your mentor, Princess Celestia, has appointed me to notify you of this; you are charged with the task of informing the ponies in Ponyville to assemble at Canterlot Palace and await further instructions there. Make sure you will inform your friends who are representing the Elements of Harmony, too. Your help will be vital. Make haste, Twilight. In the meantime, I shall inform all the other unicorns around Equestria. We expect to hold a meeting in the palace at 1500 hours.”

Sincerely,

Princess Luna

==========

It took Twilight a couple of seconds to fully understand the message in the letter. Spike didn’t fully comprehend it, either. But suddenly, Twilight took Spike on her back and raced through the door and into Ponyville. She was panicking a little, but it was understandable. It would appear that Equestria found itself on the verge of conflict with a different race. This situation required immediate action.

“We must hurry, Spike! We only have about three hours to assemble every pony in Ponyville!”

On the way, she met the mayor and told her about the letter from Princess Luna. She acted instantly and called an emergency meeting on the town’s square. All adult ponies, and most young adults were present, some with their fillies. They listened carefully and nervously to the mayor’s speech. Meanwhile, Twilight went straight to her friends to inform them of what’s been happening. She first stopped by Sugar Cube Corner to get Pinkie Pie, a pony that was renowned for throwing the best parties in town. Twilight had no idea how Pinkie Pie would react to the fact that Equestria will not be a peaceful land any longer. Nevertheless, she went straight to Pinkie’s room.

“Pinkie Pie! I need you to come with me, stat!” the unicorn called out.

Pinkie Pie hopped down joyfully, but stopped when she saw Twilight’s serious expression.

“Is something going on, Twilight? You like you’ve just swallowed a bag of quesadilla,” the pink pony laughed.

“This is no laughing matter, Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Come with me, I’ll explain everything on the way to Sweet Apple Acres!”

Pinkie didn’t really know what was going on, but she shrugged and started to run alongside Twilight. Spike then told Pinkie about the letter from Princess Luna. For that moment, Pinkie Pie had probably the most serious face possible, and looked truly worried.

“So, I’m guessing that those griffins aren’t coming down to party, hm?” she asked.

While the question did made Twilight smile a little and she thought: “She’s just being Pinkie Pie,” she replied in a worried tone, too.

“I’m afraid not, Pinkie. We need to find the rest of our friends and go to Canterlot. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to hold a meeting there. Could you go get Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, while I’ll inform Applejack and Rarity? It will be faster this way,” the purple unicorn suggested.

“Okey-dokey-lokey!”

Pinkie ran to the outskirts of town and towards Fluttershy’s cottage, while Twilight made her way to the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity was living with her younger sister, Sweetie Belle. Hearing this commotion made the white unicorn initially thought that it was another prank from Pinkie Pie, but when she saw the letter from the princess that Spike had with him all the time, she understood the seriousness of the situation.

“Sweetie, I want you to head to the school. You should stay there with Cheerilee, she’ll take care of you until I get back,” Rarity told the filly.

Sweetie wanted to stay with her sister at first, but after a bit of persuasion, she knew that it would be better otherwise. After Twilight and Rarity saw Sweetie off to school, they immediately ran to Sweet Apple Acres, when Applejack was usually bucking the trees to make apples fall.

The second she saw Twilight and Rarity rushing to her, she stopped doing just that.

“What in tarnation?” she asked in her typical fashion.

Spike briefly explained that Princess Luna had called all ponies of Ponyville to Canterlot for an emergency meeting. Applejack didn’t need to learn more; she knew something bad was going to happen. They ran back to the town square, where they saw numerous ponies assembled by the mayor. Although Twilight wanted to wait for Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, she knew that time was of the essence. The ponies began leaving the town toward Canterlot, Equestria’s capital. While most of the ponies left their children in school under Cherilee’s care, some took children with them, explaining that it would be a chance for them to see the Princesses, and their parents didn’t want to worry their kids about the possible war. It was understandable. Nopony was ever wishing for war to take place in Equestria, but now that the danger was real, they had to do their best to protect it.

While Twilight led the ponies to Canterlot, Pinkie managed to reach Fluttershy’s cottage with ease and told her everything she knew. The yellow pegasus was initially terrified by a mere thought of a war happening in Equestria, fearing for the safety of her animal friends. But Pinkie convinced Fluttershy to come along, and they went to find Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy flew to her house, but to her surprise, she didn’t find the rainbow-maned pegasus anywhere. She returned to Pinkie, who pondered what to do next:

“Well, it seems Dashie is out there, having fun. Fluttershy, do you have any clue where she would go? Cause if I were her, I would definitely go to Sugarcube Corner... Hey, maybe we should go there too, huh? She might be there!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Um... honestly, Pinkie... I... I don’t think Rainbow is there. She... did mention she will be out today, but I didn’t know she meant the whole day... I have no idea where could she be...” Fluttershy said nervously.

Pinkie shrugged it off again.

“Oh well, Dashie will eventually come. She never misses big events like this. Come on, let’s go see Twilight and the others,” the pink pony started to run back into town.

“I only hope you’re right, Pinkie,” Fluttershy thought.

She looked to the distance, like she would hope to see Rainbow Dash coming. But, after a while, she followed Pinkie Pie.

==========

1245 hrs

Ponyville airspaceRainbow Dash was completely unaware of what was happening. Her mind was focused solely on improving her flying routine. She was glad that the Wonderbolts finally noticed her, so she was busy everyday with making more and more daring tricks. Of course, she didn’t forget about her responsibilities with the weather. Rainbow might have been a little lazy, but she never kept Ponyville or her friends waiting. She just finished doing a triple air somersault and decided to take a short break.


“Phew. All this flying and swirling made me thirsty. Maybe I should visit Applejack for some sweet juice,” she thought to herself.

Rainbow was just about to take flight to Sweet Apple Acres, when suddenly; she noticed several silhouettes in the distance. She analyzed the situation.

“Huh, who could that be? They don’t look like ponies, they’re too big. There’s at least five of them.”

She also noticed they were coming her way. Rainbow decided to hide in the nearest cloud, seeing this as an opportunity to play a little prank on these unknown fellows. But when they came closer, she looked shocked. They were griffins.

Rainbow remained in the clouds, seemingly unnoticed by them. The five griffins stopped and started talking. Each of them was wearing green vests, bearing numbers from 1 to 5.

“Hey, is this Equestria yet?” one of them, his vest bearing #3, asked.

“I sure hope so. We’ve been flying for the past two hours. And I don’t see any mountains nearby either... except that lone peak over there,” the griffon with #4 pointed to a tall, black mountain in the distance.

“Oh yeah, did you know that a dragon used to live there?” the griffon with #2 joined.

“Used to? Why isn’t it there anymore?” the griffon with #3 asked.

The griffin wearing a vest with #1 chuckled.

“Y’know, it’s a funny story. Apparently, one of the ponies, a pegasus pony to be exact, convinced that dragon to leave the cave, because its snoring was causing smoke to cover Equestria.”

Hearing this story, his comrades started laughing. The one wearing #2 laughed the loudest.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Scythe. There’s no way any pony could persuade a dragon to leave a cave!”

Rainbow heard that and was about to tell him how wrong he was, but decided to remain hidden for the time being. The griffon, apparently named Scythe, approached his comrade, yet spoke to everyone.

“I’ll have you know, ponies are unusual creatures. They may have talents and skills beyond our comprehension. We should not underestimate them.”

The griffon with #3 jumped in.

“Don’t sweat it, Scythe. Unlike us, they have no real combat experience. We’ll beat them easily, and Equestria will be ours.”

“WHAT?!”

Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared before the five griffins, completely shocked. They, too, seemed to be surprised, seeing a pegasus pony appear all of a sudden.

“How long do you think she’s been listening to our conversation, Scythe?” the griffon with #5 asked.

“I don’t know Razor, but it doesn't matter. The plan is already in motion and she can’t stop it.”

Rainbow turned her attention to Scythe.

“What did you say? You plan to take over Equestria? Are you guys insane?!” the rainbow-maned pegasus yelled at them.

The griffins looked at each other and Razor chuckled.

“Funny. Black Star mentioned that he met three pegasus ponies earlier this morning who said the same thing. And he took care of them easily.”

“Yeah, what were they called again? The Rubberbolts?” griffon #2 asked mockingly.

“No Vulture, the Clutzerbolts,” griffon #4 laughed.

“I swear, those ponies are always at least two steps behind us. Should’ve seen the looks on their faces. Priceless, I tell you!”

Rainbow had no idea what were they talking about. She demanded answers, but something suddenly hit her, when they ended each name with “bolts”.

“What did you do to the Wonderbolts?!” Rainbow exclaimed angrily.

The griffins turned their attention to her again.

“Wonderbolts? So, that’s how you call them. I don’t think they deserve that title,” said Razor.

“Black Star and Red Cyclone had no trouble with taking them down at all. Which is a shame, really. They were our only worthy opponents.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus could not believe what she just heard. Wonderbolts, her beloved heroes, were defeated? This couldn’t be true... Dash had no idea what to do. She was bombarded with numerous feelings; at one end, she wanted to fight the griffins and make them pay, but on the other hand, she knew she wouldn’t be able to defeat all five of them.

Scythe once again spoke to the worried pegasus.

“Oh, don’t worry, they’re still alive. It wouldn’t be fun to conquer your land without them watching it all helplessly.”

The griffins laughed again. But Rainbow Dash had enough. As long as she was alive, no one would conquer Equestria. She knew that she had only two options: to stay and fight or to run. But running away was something Rainbow never considered an option. She spread her wings and an angry look was formed on her face, as she said:

“So, you think you can just fly in and take over Equestria?! Well, not on my watch!”

The griffins were more than amused by that bold statement.

“What’s that? You want to fight us, the Talon squadron, all by yourself?” Vulture roared with laughter.

“We’re one of the best scout units The Griffin Kingdom has to offer. You can’t compare to us all, let alone one.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t care. Her friends were far away from her, and she had no way to contact them. She also knew that she would not be able to stand up to five griffins. But she believed that perishing in combat would be better than a shameful escape. In ancient times, pegasi were renowned as great warriors, and Rainbow Dash had drops of that blood in her veins.

She prepared herself for battle...

==========

But then, moments after Vulture finished talking, he was suddenly hit by something and thrown back. His comrades looked around, completely surprised. They didn’t see anything coming. Rainbow wasn’t sure what happened either.

“You forgot one vital detail, guys. She’s not alone!”

A determined female voice could have been heard nearby. Then, a bright flash zoomed right in front of them, and stopped. It was a pink pegasus with a blue mane and purple eyes. Vulture looked angrily at his attacker.

“You’ve got guts attacking me. But, you’ll regret it!”

He instantly charged at the mysterious pegasus, but she dodged the attack easily. She then turned her attention to Rainbow Dash.

“Mind if I join in? We should show these feathered fellas a lesson they won’t soon forget,” she said, with her voice sounding not older than a young adult.

Rainbow wasn’t sure how to respond at first, but despite the questions in her head, she asked:

“Who... are you?”

The pegasus looked a little surprised.

“What, you don’t know me? Well... can’t blame you. I haven’t been in Equestria for five years. I’d like to tell you more, but after we take care of these uninvited guests.”

“Says you!”

Vulture charged at the pegasus again, but this time, she didn’t dodge. Instead, she flew directly at him and smashed in his head with her front legs. Screaming, Vulture plummeted down. Two of his comrades went to catch him, while Razor tried to strike the pink pegasus, but Rainbow intercepted him with a swift attack. They fought for a while, each trying to avoid attacks and counter at the best moment. The pink pegasus took on Scythe.

“You appear to be quite a skilled flier,” he commented on the pegasus.

“Thanks. It’s always nice to hear a compliment from the enemy,” she replied.

“So, you think of us as enemies?” Scythe asked.

The pink pegasus tried to hit him, as she said:

“Of course. You attack Equestria not in hopes of expanding your territory, but to take it over!” the blue-maned flier exclaimed.

Scythe tried to ignore that.

“We simply do what our general told us to do. It’s nothing personal.”

“Don’t give me that crap!” the pegasus yelled.

The fought between each other, displaying great dodging and aerial skills. After five minutes, Scythe decided that enough time was wasted already.

“Talon squadron, retreat. We’re going back to Gryphus!”

Vulture just regained consciousness and was openly against it, but he didn’t want to argue with his leader. Razor broke away from Rainbow Dash and rejoined his comrades, who soon left the airspace. Rainbow sighed in relief. The pink pegasus approached her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow replied.

“Thanks. If it weren’t for you, I might have not made it.”

“The pleasure is mine. But rest assured, we will see them again,” the stranger warned.

“So, who are you?” Rainbow asked again.

“You really don’t remember me, do you, Rainbow Dash?”

That question surprised Dash. This pegasus knew her name.

“Ah well, perhaps my cutie mark will remind you of something,”

Saying this, she turned to the side and showed Rainbow her cutie mark. Two blue lightning bolts.

Dash gasped. She remembered seeing a similar pegasus in a gallery of famous Cloudsdale fliers!

“No way! You’re...?!”

“That’s right,” the pink pegasus nodded.

“My name’s Firefly. And it’s good to be back home.”

Rainbow tried to say something, but all she could say was a quiet “Wow”. Firefly laid her purple eyes on Rainbow Dash and said:

“We gotta get to Canterlot, fast. Something big is going to happen. Can you lead me there?”

“S-Sure thing!” Rainbow led the pink pegasus to the Equestrian capital. Just in time...

==========

1545 hrs

Canterlot CastlePrincess Celestia was just reaching the final moments of her speech. Over 300 ponies were assembled in the entire palace, and they heard every word the sun princess spoke very clearly. Luna was sitting by her side all the time, but didn’t said a single word so far.

“... therefore, as of today, I’ve decided, along with my sister, Princess Luna...” at this point, Luna stood up, “...that Equestria needs a proper defense against the upcoming griffin invasion. We don’t know exactly what their motives are, but it is clear that they plan to attack us. We shall form a military force, which shall be known as the Equestrian Allied Forces or EAF, for short. We shall now begin forming the organization within the unit.”

Within an hour, the ponies managed to assemble a properly structured army, consisting of battalions, divisions, squadrons, brigades and companies. It would be clearly seen that some ponies were reluctant to join into any military affairs, but they realized that Equestria was in danger, and they couldn’t ignore it. Princesses Celestia and Luna then begun to assign leaders and commanders to various groups and divisions.

As expected, the Elements of Harmony were the first ones to be assigned. Twilight Sparkle, being a genius organizer and Celestia’s most trusted student, was given the leadership over the 42nd Unicorn Division, while Rarity was granted the 18th Unicorn Company. Applejack was given the 10th Earth Pony Brigade, with Pinkie Pie leading the 7th Earth Pony Company. However, there was a problem with pegasus ponies. With the Wonderbolts out of commission, the air force was disorganized and without an actual leader. Princess Luna then thought of something.

“Sister, mayhap we should entrust the pegasus ponies to Phalanx, one of our royal guards?”

“You certainly have a point, Luna, but I’m more concerned by the fact that Rainbow Dash isn’t here. And I know that Fluttershy wouldn’t like to take command over anypony. I can tell she’s scared. If only there was-”

Suddenly, the door to the main chamber slammed open. Rainbow Dash flew through them, but the initial cheering was soon abruptly cut short when everypony saw Firefly flying alongside Rainbow. Many were wondering who it could be; they apparently didn’t recognize her.

The pink pegasus took a glimpse around her and noticed two large stained-glass windows depicting a group of six ponies defeating Nightmare Moon and the god of Chaos, Discord. One of these ponies looked almost exactly like Rainbow. She also noticed another winged unicorn standing besides Princess Celestia and figures it was Luna, her younger sister. Near the thrones, two earth ponies, unicorns and one pegasus stood by. They, too, looked similar to those from the stained-glass windows.

“Wow, a lot must have happened when I was away...” Firefly thought to herself.

Following Rainbow Dash, she approached the princesses and bowed before them. Rainbow Dash did the same and looked at the Royal Sisters.

“Beg pardon, Princess Celestia, Luna. I hope I haven’t arrived too late. We had to deal with several griffins, who were apparently scouts,” Rainbow came closer and explained.

“No, Rainbow, you are just in time. We were just about to assign leaders to the pegasus ponies and their units,” said the sun princess.

Firefly lifted her head and asked:

“So, it is already settled? The military force is formed?”

Some were shocked to hear this stranger ask the princess so informally, but Luna replied.

“Indeed. The Equestrian Allied Forces, or EAF, for short.”

Firefly smiled and turned to Celestia.

“My princess, if it isn’t too much of a trouble, may I ask you something?”

“But of course, feel free to ask me anything,” Celestia responded.

“I would like you to grant me permission to form my own fighter squadron for the upcoming war.”

The reaction of the ponies, especially the royal guards, was predictable; they were outright disturbed by this proposition, fearing it would bring confusion into the ranks. But Princess Celestia looked at the pink pegasus and her face was filled with delight.

“You have my permission, Firefly. Your team will be formally known as the 2nd Air Division, 179th Tactical Pegasus Squadron. How you will name it and who shall fly in it is entirely up to you.”

“Firefly?”

“Did she just say Firefly?”

“Unbelievable!”

“Is it really her?”

That name made several ponies, especially the pegasus ponies, jump in surprise. They started whispering between each other. Firefly noticed it and flew up, so that everypony could see her, then said out loud:

“That’s right. My name is Firefly. I have returned to Equestria after five years, when I left on a journey to hone my skills and abilities. Now, I have returned to protect the land I call home from the imminent attack by the enemy. And I ask you, pegasus ponies; would any of you like to join my squadron? I’ll be needing a group of brave, valiant pegasi that are not afraid to stand up to our enemies. It’s a fact that they are well-prepared for this war, but I have vital information about their plans. And I shall deliver them to both princesses after this meeting. But for now, I ask you again; are there any pegasi here that are wishing to defend Equestria against any possible threat?”

The chamber fell silent for a moment, until Rainbow Dash said:

“You don’t even have to ask, Firefly. I’ll join your squadron. There is no way I’m going to let the griffins take over Equestria. And I will pay them back for what they did to Wonderbolts!”

Firefly grinned.

“I knew I could count on you, Rainbow Dash. In that case, I’m happy to welcome you as a part of my team,” they clashed their hooves as a sign of friendship.

“Do you have any particular request for a callsign?” Firefly asked.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, but ultimately said:

“I’ll just stick with Rainbow.”

Firefly laughed.

“Yeah, it’s got a nice ring to it.”

She then turned to the pegasus ponies again.

“Alright. Is there anypony else who is interested in joining us?”

After a short silence, a lone pegasus left the crowd and approached them. She had a white coat, with a blue mane and eyes. They made her seem determined.

“I want to join you. I can’t stand the fact that someone wants to invade our land. I will do anything in my might to aid you.”

“Well, alright, but how exactly can you help us?” Firefly responded.

“I’m well acquainted with technology and strategy,” the white pegasus answered.

Firefly thought for a second and turned to Rainbow Dash.

“You probably know majority of the pegasus ponies here. What do you think, will she be a good wingmare?”

Rainbow, instead of answering, approached the pegasus and smiled.

“It’d be awesome to have you on our side, Lightning Bolt.”

The white pegasus gave a friendly smile to Firefly, and that sealed the deal.

“OK, then. You’re a part of our team. Your callsign will be...”

She took a glimpse on Bolt’s cutie mark and announced:

Thunder.

Just then, another pegasus stepped out of the crowd. It had a violet coat with yellow mane. She seemed to be excited.

“Wait, if Lightning Bolt is joining you, I want to come, too. We’re best friends; where she goes, I go too!”

Lightning Bolt approached her.

“But, Cloud Kicker, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ll most likely be involved in a lot of dangerous situations.”

“Exactly”, Cloud Kicker replied.

“You’ll be needing somepony to keep an eye on you. I’ve got a great sense of hearing and sight,” she told Firefly.

“Sounds good to me. Alright, you’ll be designated as...” - again, she looked at the pony’s cutie mark, which had a sun hiding behind a cloud - “Sunny. Let’s see, we could use one more pony and that would be it, for now. We need to get used to each other. Any recommendations, Rainbow?”

“Yeah, I’ve got somepony in mind,” said Rainbow.

“While she may not like violence and war, I’m certain she’ll be a great support for us, Firefly.”

“Then tell me”, the pink pegasus said.

“Tell me the name of that pegasus.”

“...Fluttershy.”

The quiet and timid yellow pegasus stepped toward the others. She appeared to be startled.
Firefly wasn’t sure.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Rainbow jumped in.

“I, too, used to think that Fluttershy was afraid of her own shadow. But, in time of need, she can be a great ally.”

Rainbow leaned closer to Firefly and whispered to her ear.

“She forced a dragon to leave the cave on the Dragon Mountain just by talking to him.”

“You’re kidding! Is that true?” the pink pegasus asked Fluttershy.

“Um... yes... but I did it because he was threatening my friends.”

Firefly patted Fluttershy on the back.

“That’s proof enough for me. You’re in, Butterfly.”

The pink pegasus then turned to the princesses.

“I believe the squadron forming is complete, Your Highnesses.”

They both nodded and asked Firefly how will the squadron be called. She didn’t answer at first, but after a while, she announced:

“Our team shall be known as... Mirage.”

She turned to her new friends.

“I haven’t been here for quite some time. Could you give me a short tour before we go to our base in Cloudsdale?”

“You got it, Firefly,” Rainbow Dash responded.

The pink pegasus turned to her, saying she wished to have “Flash” as a callsign, to signify her great agility. The sights of numerous ponies were seeing the five fliers over as they were leaving the chamber. Princess Celestia thought to herself:

“I’m glad to see that she returned. With the Mirage squadron, Equestria might prevail.”

==========

1937 hrs

Gryphus, Griffin Throne RoomGeneral Silverbeak, the leader of the Griffin Army, was receiving the report from Scythe and his wingman about their encounter with Rainbow Dash and Firefly.

“And that’s the current situation, sir,” Scythe concluded.

“They’re fully aware of our plans, now. We might be expecting some resistance from those equines.”

“Cursed pink pegasus!” Vulture exclaimed, while checking his wound.

“She dared to attack me! The next time I’ll meet her...!”

General Silverbeak rose his right wing.

“Restraint, Vulture. It’s because of your behavior that you are in the current state. While I understand your desire to bring glory to our kingdom, you must not forget; a soldier must always be focused on his opponent. Doing otherwise will result in defeat.”

He then stood up from his throne and walked to the window, overlooking the mountains. It was already nightfall. The griffins from the Talon squadron had no idea what he was thinking about, but when he turned to them, they heard him well.

“We will wait and see what they’re up to. And whoever that pink pegasus is, take extra caution around her. I feel that this pegasus and her wingmares won’t make our campaign an easy one. If things go the wrong way, we might be forced to use the... ultimate solution.”

The griffins from the Talon squadron didn't know what their general meant, but said solution would one day prove to be truly frightening. He hoped that it would be enough to end the war. But he was unaware that the ponies were capable of great feats, especially during their darkest hours. This conflict was going to be engraved in the minds of many.