Ace Combat Equestria: Shattered Clouds

by Cpt Celti

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Taking off from the carrier was (marginally) easier than landing. The catapult crews handled that mostly, and after a wave of her wings to the crews and a salute to Captain Bowline and Admiral Pippington for their assistance, she was off in the direction of her new home in Saddle Arabia. The wings folded back and she throttled up, hitting supersonic within moments as her fully fueled engines screamed.
She had looked back after putting her fighter on autopilot to see... an empty seat. Alone. She was flying alone.

Ditzy.

The poor mare was still on the coast, being sent to a hospital that had much better equipment and a more stable operating platform than a nuclear powered carrier could provide. Shocking in of itself, though they could provide better care for her after the navy corpsmen handled the bigger stuff. The shrapnel had been removed, she'd been sewn up, and the grey pegasus mare was stable. But the damage was extensive throughout her body. The doctors had done all they could, they said, and it was up to Lieutenant Ditzy Do whether or not she'd pull through.
The sea green mare barely got to say goodbye.

Her mood hadn't changed in the weeks following her return to Ghost Wing and leaving the HMS Fairweather. Rhapsody's fingers ran slowly along the glass of orange juice as her opposite hand lightly jabbed a fork into her hash browns. Her Tomcat was good as new with brand new parts; the navy repair kids knew exactly what to do, saying they practiced fighter maintenance on old F-14As. Her baby was shiny as if it had just been pushed off the assembly line. Sky Breaker had been destroyed, the Gryphons were on the run now, pulling their wayward forces back as far as they could go, at the same time calling in reservists to shore up lighter areas, turning inner Gryphnia into a blasted fortress. But one that AEGIS would soon topple. In all, they had the Gryphons on the ropes. And Rhapsody was the cause of it. She had been the one to drop bombs on Sky Breaker's turrets. She was called a damn hero and an ace fighter pilot.

Why did this victory feel so hollow, then? Why couldn't she be happy?

"Gonna eat those?" a familiar voice asked. Rhapsody's rose-colored eyes locked with the gold of her hippogriff friend, who just finished her food. She looked at the two other faces regarding her in concern. Giving a forced sigh, Rhapsody pushed the tray towards Sprig, who blinked at it and frowned, her beak curving downwards. "Was kinda hoping you wouldn't do that, mate."

"Not hungry anyway," the Captain murmured.

"You've barely been eating lately," Amethyst replied. Rhapsody was at least taking solace the rest of her squad hadn't changed too much.

"I'd say it's done her some good." Others, not so much.

Rhapsody glared daggers at Mythic, who was stirring his coffee while reading his newest comic. When he didn't hear laughing, or any sound for that matter, he looked up. All three mares were glaring at him, when his eyes fixed on Rhapsody's, he could almost see himself being burned alive. "That... sounded better in my head."

Sprig opened her beak to scold the lone stallion of the group, but not before craning her head around to see Rhapsody walking out of the mess hall, her tray left in the center, food still piled on it. The hippogriff snarled and slugged the stallion hard in the shoulder. He yelped and fell backwards out of his seat.

Applejack removed her helmet as she entered the tent. The two soldiers on either side guarding the door stood at attention and saluted. "At ease," she said, returning them to their statuesque positions. Running a hand through her blonde mane, she flicked her tail in annoyance as she saw Rarity had, once again, decorated her campaign map.

"It's so bland though!" she scolded to the Sergeant Major. The stallion merely stood there, unsure what to make of the map. She had... color-coded various parts of the map. The white unicorn's horn was alight as she guided several differently colored fabrics to areas around the map, stating they show conquered and liberated areas. It looked more like... a blanket. A stitched blanket that she remembered Granny Smith sewing for her when she was much younger, Mother Mare rest that old pony's soul.

"Ma'am... it's... a field map," Sergeant Major tried to say slowly. But Rarity lifted her hand to silence the Pegasus before he could proceed further.

"We need to prove that we can fight and still maintain a sense of dignity when we make our plans of attack!" she exclaimed. She then turned to the former farm mare that had just entered the tent. Applejack's mane was disheveled as the orange mare set her helmet aside and picked up her cowpony hat before staring at the map. "Colonel! You can relate to this, correct? Dignity and whatnot?"

Colonel Apple looked at the unicorn mare, before gripping the multicolored sheet and bundling it up. She then tossed it over her shoulder. Rarity's jaw dropped, her hard work no doubt, being carelessly thrown to the side. It would have been much worse had it landed on the dirt, but instead landed in an open crate... full of vests covered in dirt, mud, and Celestia knew what else.

"Ah need my map how ah left it, Lieutenant Colonel. Not frilled up like one of yer dresses back in Ponyville," Applejack snapped at Rarity. The unicorn mare blanched at the comment, but was cut off by the Colonel before she could retort. "You need to understand this is a warzone. Ah don't want 'pretty' maps, ah want functional and understandable, not 'the Gryphons are mauve and we're a light lilac color while these parts are green or'-" Applejack quickly shook her head. "Ah want my maps how they are, alright?"

Rarity huffed and with a flick of her magic, gathered up the colorful cloths and shoved them unceremoniously into her bag. "Fine then, Colonel," she replied with no attempt to hide her scorn at using ranks among friends. Applejack didn't like it either, but she had had just about enough of Rarity trying to, even here, make things beautiful. Doing her best for troop morale, the Tank Colonel knew this all too well, but there were times she went overboard. "I have reports from the front. Our advance is going smoothly, mostly catching Gryphon stragglers and the occasional stronghold. The Air Force or the Navy soften it, and our ground forces take it."

"And what's the news from the Hibernian Dragoons?" Applejack asked.

Rarity flipped to another page in her folder. "The dismantling is going on schedule. The Gryphons are being surprisingly cooperative. The metal that can be salvaged is being distributed by the different armed forces to see what we could get out of it all. The excess rounds are also being dismantled and the same is being done with them. Taelur has been, how would you say, 'chomping at the bit' to get their hands on Sky Breaker's weaponry." Rarity harrumphed. "Such precious metals and they were being used for petty ammunition."

"Gryphons are weird like that," the Sergeant Major muttered. The two mares in the room turned to him, and the male pegasi grimaced. "Sorry, ma'am."

Applejack shook her head as she reached for her nearby glass of water. "No worries, sugar cube," she replied nonchalantly. "I completely agree with the sentiment, just hope we don't follow their hoofsteps. Or at least our allies don't." She took a quick drink and sighed, pointing at the southern portion of the map. "Our advance through Saddle Arabia is going smooth, and the latest report from the Crystal Empire is that they're still encountering heavy resistance just outside of Glacier. They just about turned the place into a fortress since the Meteors are based out of there."

"How do we plan to break it?" Rarity asked quietly.

Applejack once again shook her head. "We've been communicating with a barkeep who's been feeding us information as best he can. But it's mostly spotty information because to get any closer is incredibly dangerous. So the information is mostly hypothetical, and that's the best they can give without blowing their cover or getting somepony killed."

A fist tapped hard on the tent flap and the Colonel turned around. "Enter." A stone faced Saddle Arabian soldier entered, handing the earth pony a slip of paper. Applejack nodded her thanks and the soldier left the tent. She looked it over closely.

Rarity stepped up beside her friend and tilted her head. "What is it?"

Applejack ran a hand down her face and grimaced deeply. "It's one of our U-2s in the south. It's finished its reconnaissance and apparently we were correct to fear the information about Gryphnia's replacement for Sky Breaker."

"So it isn't a rumor," the Pegasus soldier breathed. "We need that information it's carrying."

"Tell me something I don't know, Sergeant Major," Applejack grumbled. She set the report down and turned back to her map. Looking at the coordinates, she followed the map lines till she found the last reported location of the U-2. It was coming in from the sea at an extreme altitude, but due to its low fuel and many intended detours, it had been forced to drop and take a shortcut. She followed the line to a massive canyon. "Hydra Ravine. He'll need to go through there to land with at least fumes in his tanks. But if intelligence is serving us well, and Twilight hasn't let us down yet, there are balloons all over the area that jam our radar and guidance."

"So they can't be targeted by missiles," Rarity concluded.

"And thankfully, neither can he." The former farm pony let a hand run through her mane. "Any bases nearby that can provide support? The second he drops altitude, he'll trigger the Gryphnian radar arrays in the area and they'll scramble everything that they have to intercept." She checked her watch, pursing her lips. "He'll need to drop down in about another two hours."

Rarity leaned over the map, the keen eye of a former seamstress serving her well as she eyed the mountains and the hills. Narrowing her blue eyes, she ran her finger over the map until finally, she tapped on one of the pins marked. "This here."

Applejack followed her finger and nodded. "Shabal Air Base, on the north end of Saddle Arabia. Perfect; that's one Dash's. Ah'll get on the horn to her and see if she can scramble a couple planes to escort him in."

Once the latest C-17 had landed and taxied into its place, Rhapsody kept trudging through the base. A good number of them had been landing recently to drop off supplies. This close to the frontlines, Shabal Air Base had been sending fighters out on a daily basis to aid with the ground assaults. The occasional C-5 dropped off plane parts or, as happened a couple of times after a particularly nasty battle, a whole plane or helicopter. Some of them were in the middle of parking just off to the side as they unloaded or prepared to refuel and take off. It was a never ending cycle for the cargo pilots.

As she continued walking down the rather quiet flight line, a few ponies had exchanged whispers, claiming they were looking at a true ace, a hero. One of the hangars was open. A pair of unicorns was working carefully and diligently on one of the F-117 Nighthawks that had taken residence with the Saddle Arabian Air Corps. They stopped in their work, letting their tools and materials hover in the air as they watched her go by. The pegasus mare could always tell when someone was checking her out; her wings twitched any time eyes were on her when her back was turned.

The same thing happened when some ground crew ponies were hauling fuel pips on a large truck. They stopped to let Rhapsody walk across their path. Even over the din of the massive engine of the truck, she could hear them talking about how incredible a pilot she was, the stories they heard of her.

Wraith had become an icon to the war effort. When she flew, they knew the mission was going to succeed. She even heard a bit louder one of the Hippogriffs who were part of the airborne unit stationed with the 14th Tactical. They were murmuring, "When she flies, we don't die." So, AEGIS propaganda had made her a living legend to boost morale. They didn't even talk to the mare in question what she wanted said about her.

Rhapsody enlisted and became a pilot to defend Equestria, defend Equis as a whole, from aggressors of any shape or form. It just upset her that she wanted to be a humble air force pilot and then probably get shot down somewhere and forgotten, chalked up as another brave young pilot who died protecting her country. But maybe she was just too good to get shot. Certainly didn't apply a couple weeks ago when those Meteors shot up her plane into diced corn.

Finally, she reached her destination. Opening the door, she entered the hangar, promptly closing it behind her and staring longingly at the lone occupant. Her Tomcat simply sat there, no scars, no lines marking its age or past battles. The Navy air techs knew how to patch up a plane and make it look as good as new. Even though an aged fighter, the Captain had spied at least six on the HMS Fairweather. One of the pilots she had spoken to on the Fairweather said the second carrier in the Royal Navy, HMS Faerie Flight, had a squadron who petitioned to keep theirs, as well, after they had been trying to get a request for Hornets. Apparently, Tomcats were getting popular again.

Rhapsody walked closer to it, her wings and tail clinging to her body as the chill in the hangar caressed her coat. Hands in her jacket pocket, she stepped to the nose and then ran a hand all the way down, over the painted nose, over the painting of her harp cutie mark, over the multiple airplane stickers that showed her kills. She grimaced at the fact that even the fighter she tricked into getting shot during the Rocket Base fight had even been counted. She guessed she shouldn't be surprised.

"I think you miss her too," she murmured to the Tomcat. Rhapsody stared at the canopy, then leaned forward, resting her cheek on the side. It was warm, her plane was, as if sensing she was cold. Rhapsody had grown fond of this plane; she was assigned this particular plane just before they were going to be discontinued. Most pilots tried to find excuses to have theirs traded in, but not her. This was hers. She had often been criticized for folding her jumpsuit down around her waist, leaving only her tank-top, and would help the ground crews when they worked, even if just holding the tools, but they gave her the chance to tighten the bolts or add new rivets when needed. But they allowed her to help because she flew it and knew it better.

"They're calling us heroes, girl," she murmured to the plane, then shook her head. "I don't see it that way. I only wanted to be a pilot, cheesy as it sounds. I joined the Air Force, then went to war to fight. Didn't think I'd see myself becoming the hero of the damn thing." Turning her back to the fighter, then leaning against it, she continued, "I'm just one mare. One mare can't change the war, can she? I'm only one part of the whole. Hell, there're ponies out there right now dying while... here I am... cozy in a hangar with you."

She got no response, much as she expected. Her Tomcat only spoke when it flew, letting it's fury in the sky do the talking. Her instructor at the academy always told her, "The plane knows what it wants to do. Just feel the controls and you'll feel it yourself. Let it do the fighting, all you need to do is hold on tight."

Running her hand back up the airframe, she patted her cutie mark painted on the side, just over the decals depicting her kills throughout her career. Silhouettes of planes, boats, tanks, and helicopters took up a good portion of the nose. She had an impressive number for one who barely had a scratch on her. But Rhapsody frowned upon looking down at her bandaged wing. She was missing feathers but she was far better off than her co-pilot and best friend, Ditzy. What the Captain had received was paltry to what the grey mare had suffered.

Rhapsody swiftly shook her head. She had dwelt on that moment more than enough times. Sprig was right; she needed to get over it. She needed something else to think about. Ditzy was getting the care she needed and more. The silence was what she didn't like. The two friends hadn't been able to speak in the week since the sea green mare returned. But Rhapsody had to remind herself that she couldn't dwell on it. She still had a job to do. The skies were still being contested over Equis, and AEGIS had to triumph or all was lost.

She promptly banged her head on the Tomcat's nose to get it through her thick skull.

"Wraith! There you are!" Rhapsody blinked and rubbed her forehead and turned to the speaker. Creg, the hippogriff wing leader of Saber, panted as he flexed his wings and jerked his thumb back towards the rest of the base. "Major Soarin has been asking where you are. He's got a sortie for you."

"For me, specifically?" she asked slowly.

Creg shrugged, once again putting emphasis on exiting the hangar with a jerk of his head towards the door. "He didn't say and I didn't ask, mate. But c'mon." Shrugging, Rhapsody followed the hippogriff out the door where he took wing to the air. The pegasus mare eyed him with some envy that he could fly while she was grounded for another couple of weeks due to her injury. But her hooves still worked as far as she could see, so she sprinted her way across the tarmac to the base's command center.

"One of our U-2s is coming back from a scouting mission," Soarin explained as he walked with Rhapsody back to her Tomcat's hangar. She was fully geared in her flight suit with her helmet tucked under her arm. They walked at a brisk pace, the Major giving the mare her briefing as they walked. "It has engine troubles and has to fly through Hydra Ravine to the Northeast to make it here on time. It's deep in Gryphnian territory but a fog has rolled in and masked it pretty well."

"So it's an escort mission?" she asked simply.

Soarin tilted his head and shrugged. "You could say that, yes. Thing is, Hydra Ravine was, earlier in the war, flooded with airships that have radar jammers attached. We can't use missiles while those things are active and they mess up radar badly. That U-2 has a chance of crashing if it can't use its radar and we can't afford that. You need to get there fast before the U-2 does and shoot down the balloons, and sadly you'll need to use your cannon."

They reached the door, but Rhapsody stopped short and tugged the Major's arm. "Sir, I don't get it; why me and me alone? I'm one pilot among dozens here and I don't have a co-pilot. There's regulations on that."

Soarin folded his arms with a knowing grin. "Because, Captain Rhapsody, two things. One, you've been absent for a few sorties while they rebuilt your plane and took care of your wing. So you need to make up some sorties on your own to correct our records and get yourself back in the swing of things." He then looked at the door while the hangar was being opened and chuckled. "And two, this was a personal request from your new co-pilot." Rhapsody raised an eyebrow at him, but instead of elaborating, Soarin merely turned from her and flew back to the command center. The sea green mare blinked and stepped through the doorway...

... And promptly stood in shock, dropping her helmet.

"Quite a few kills since I've been gone, couple more scratches than I would've thought you'd have gotten. And these two red plane marks here, I'm guessing two meteors? Damn impressive if I say so myself. Even I never got one during my sorties, and you took one down in a Tomcat." The other mare patted the Tomcat's nose, snickering. "I'm proud of you, Rhapsody. Taking down two Meteors and all these planes and ships, no wonder everypony is spreading rumors about you." Rhapsody said nothing, keeping her eyes glued on the other mare's back. Golden wings flexed as she rolled her shoulders and flipped her helmet around to cover her fiery orange and yellow mane, the helmet still bearing the mark of the Wonderbolts.

It was then that Major Spitfire turned to Rhapsody, frowning at her.

"Let's go, Wraith! We got a timetable to keep!"

Comments

[Patriot Pony]

Cut Celti! I might not read alot, but I would say, you did a fantastic job with this story!

[Cpt Celti]

7193992
Thank you so much!