Ace Combat Equestria: Shattered Clouds

by Cpt Celti

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The sun turned the desert into a thing of early morning beauty. The usual heat had not gripped the landscape quite yet, and Shavul Air Base was a comfortable temperature, at least for now. The scent of jet fuel was heavy in the air even as sand began to blow across the tarmac. A long distance away, in the town just half a mile away from the base, a rooster crowed to wake all for the day. Goats bleated; hungry for their breakfast even as the farmer was passing it out. Both the town and the base itself were livening up from a deep slumber that was being slowly lifted off like a warm blanket.

Rhapsody stirred her tea, getting the bag fully drained into the mug. She blew the steam off and took a small sip. Exhaling, she smiled, letting the liquid warm her body. "I keep hearing 'Not for all the tea in Saddle Arabia'," she said with a chuckle. "I wondered why that was such a big deal. I now know why."

Spitfire laughed and kept to her coffee, her third mug since waking up two hours ago. She and Rhapsody had taken quick few laps of running and flying around the base when the Major had awoken. Being that Spitfire was Rhapsody's new co-pilot, she had a bunk next to the other mare's bunk. Her wings burning from the early exertion of movement, a warm mug of Saddle Arabian tea, a blend grown just in town that she bought yesterday, was just what she needed to calm her nerves.

In just a few hours, she'd be in the air taking part in the largest battle of the war.

The famous Ghost One could only imagine the knife-edge the nerves of the tank crews were on. Everypony was going to need to be on their A game today. The coming fight was going to decide the entire campaign. Gryphnia's forces outnumbered them by a staggering margin, and if intelligence was correct, a large margin of that was conscripts and volunteers; Gryphons with little to no combat experience, rushed into service with only enough knowledge to fire a rifle. It wasn't that they lacked experience; it was that there was so many of them that unnerved every AEGIS soldier and tanker already positioning themselves for the fight to come.

Miles into the desert, the massed armor was tearing across the desert. She heard unconfirmed numbers ranging from two-hundred armor to over five-hundred. It was the largest single gathering of AEGIS armored battalions since the start of the war when they were fighting a retreating battle to get out of the same valley they were now charging into. Equestrian M1s, Saddle Arabian Leopards, Imperial Laclercs, and Hibernian Challengers were going up against a vaster number of Gryphnian T-90s. Rhapsody swallowed hard thinking how much metal was going to litter the desert before the fighting was over.

Looking at the clock, she exhaled. "Two more hours... then we get this show on the road."

Cider Valley. Sixty more miles. She couldn't see it quite yet.

Applejack stood up and stretched as she poked herself out of the top of her tank. The sounds of heavy engines and caterpillar treads had nearly lulled her to sleep. She mused that the war must have changed her completely if the sound of a tank engine running full-speed could put her to sleep better than cicadas and crickets back home in the orchards.

"What I wouldn't give for one bite of those apples, right about now," she murmured. Exhaling, she patted her mounted fifty-caliber machinegun. She had personally mounted the monster herself when she first received her tank, even going as far as painting her cutie mark on the side. She's had to repaint in numerous times, but was no less pleasured to do so. Checking to make sure the feed was correct. She pulled herself back down and grabbed her radio, switching to battalion wide communication.

"All call signs, this is Big Apple, call sign Thunder one-one. Cider Valley is coming into sight. I want everypony on their guns and A game. This is their last line of defense..."

"... So they need all the close-air support they can get. They're heavily outnumbered by every piece of armor and every boot the King could rush into battle at one time," Soarin explained. "But this is the best option we have is to face it head-on to get through it. We get through this, Fyrick will be only days away."

Creg from Saber raised his hand. "Sir, what's the projected casualty rate on the ground?"

Soarin exhaled and looked back to the map of Cider Valley. He saw the number of dots representing the Gryphnian lines to the east and AEGIS to the west. There was more red than blue by nearly double. "High... almost extremely high."

Silence dominated the room before Rhapsody raised her hand. "What's the aircraft opposition look like?"

Soarin pointed to her. "Thank you for pointing that out. Gryphnia isn't stupid enough not to send in fighters and ground-attackers. Intelligence also says they've deployed a good number of stealth fighters and fighter-bombers to the region as well. Raptors and Nighthawks. Their main objective, we believe, is to destroy as much of our armor as possible before they all get killed. That being said, this is, put simply, total attack on all Gryphnian positions. Your orders are to provide close-air support and annihilate all opposition."

Shoving the map aside, Soarin looked to Rainbow Dash, standing beside him. She was taking a slip of paper from a mare who looked as if she had been running a marathon. Rainbow looked over the paper and whirled on the pilots. "AWACS reports that our armor is closing on the first line of resistance. You need to leave, now. Everypony to your stations! Go!"

"Everypony on your hooves! Visual on enemy armor!"

Applejack hissed and pressed her face into her scope. Zooming in, she caught sight of, indeed, Gryphnian T-90 tanks. They had formed a line just a few miles ahead. "Confirmed sighting," she called through her radio. "All call signs lock n' load! The second they're in range, you are clear to engage." She switched to talk to her driver in front. "Full throttle, Sergeant!"

The M1 tank gained more speed as her own tanks from her regiment sped up to keep pace. The rest of the AEGIS armor matched her speed. Peeking up through her turret, she could practically hear the treads of the other tanks screaming as the charge was sounded. Beside her, her aide's M2 was tearing up the sand beside her, the gunner waving at her. Applejack gave him a thumbs up as she reached forward, grasping her machine gun after checking to make sure it was loaded.
"Enemy armor! Fifteen hundred meters," her aide cried on the radio. "Effective range – " A scream cut him off, followed by an explosion. Applejack shouted in surprise as she ducked down into her turret, the protective plates surrounding her machine gun deflecting debris. Pulling herself back up, she stared in horror as the M2 that was just beside her was now a burning hulk. The hatch blew open and a pair of ponies scrambled out, ablaze and screaming as the rolled on the sand.

"Thunderclap 2-1 is down! Repeat, 2-1 is down!" her radiopony cried.

Snarling angrily after a prayer for their lives to Celestia and yanked her charging handle back on her machine gun. "All armor fire at will! Fire at will!"

The sound of thunder could not compare to the volume that now split the air. The main guns of every AEGIs tank began firing, nearly three hundred strong. She knew the other two areas of the desert had been engaged by both sides, but the earsplitting blasts forced her ears to pin back to save her hearing. Gryphnian tanks fired back, some rounds hitting home. More than one tank and IFV was struck, turning the war machines into fiery tombs or, mercifully, destroying the treads and knocking the tank out of combat. Just behind her right shoulder, an Imperial Laclerc exploded right in the center, the turret blowing off with the explosion within. It was followed by one of the Saddle's Leopards being struck right in the treads. The crew seemed to be fine, she observed, as they aimed their main gun upwards and became an impromptu artillery position, firing round after round.

Her own tank fired its main gun, and she watched the ramjet round slice the air before tearing through a T-90, blowing it apart, the turret blasting off the chassis. This was followed by a larger explosion as the ramjet round impacted the BMP behind it. The Gryphnian IFV had the round imbedded in it before it promptly exploded in a brilliant display of colors. Applejack allowed a small smile; Sky Breaker's technology was now being used by AEGIS. A number of the enemy tanks began to back up, but a majority still held their ground and some even advanced. Applejack narrowed her eyes, ducking behind her gun.

"All Thunderclaps, form up on me." Other M1 tanks began to file in behind her and take their positions up on a sand dune. "Fire at will!" Another thunderous volley launched from her battalions guns. Four others had their guns outfitted to fire the ramjet shells, and the new ordinance tore through the enemy armor. There was a sudden shriek in the air as she looked up, spying AEGIS fighters flying above them.

"All AEGIS ground forces! The air support has arrived!"

Rhapsody pushed her nose down. "Ghost engage!"

"Gold engage!"

"Emerald engage!"

"Windigo engage!"

"Saber engage!"

"Timberwolf engage!"

Pulling up, a bomb flew from underneath her Tomcat and collided with a howitzer position. Looking around, she saw that the Gryphons were all over the desert. She knew this was their last line of defense, but she didn't realize they had scrambled so many troops into one place. She hadn't seen so many gryphons since the beach landing when they first arrived. They truly were desperate to halt AEGIS's advance.

"We've got lines of resistance all over the desert," Scootaloo reported. "Everypony down there is requesting support. Flow to as many areas as you can to keep the battle in our favor."

"I can see a group of gunships heading for the left flank," Sprig called. Rhapsody had to remind herself that the hippogriff could see better than the others in her Wing. "Wraith, permission to take Emerald's three and four with me to soften them up! They're heading for the Marines!"

"Granted. Shade, Pick, go with Crosshair to the center line. Go back up the Colonel!" Pulling her throttle back, she watched as Creg's Typhoon was joined by Aquamarine's fighting falcon and Mythic's Typhoon. Being primarily a ground battle, they had been loaded with bombs. Matching speeds, they tore through the cloudless sky, searching for targets. Mother Mare knew, Rhapsody mused, there were enough to choose from.

"Wraith; picking up a fuel depot at two-two-four. Orders are to obliterate it."

"Wraith acknowledges, Sky Gazer. Let's clean house!"

"Damn! It's over a hundred and twenty in here!" Applejack cried as she ducked back into her turret. Even in this cramped space within the tank, she had no choice. The former farm mare began unbuttoning her uniform blouse, quickly getting to her olive green undershirt. Pressing her eyes back to her viewfinder, she kept her sights trained on –

"Colonel Applejack! Colonel!" a voice suddenly screeched over the radio.

Applejack swore to herself and pressed her radio to turn on. "Bad time Pinkie! What is it?"

"TWITCHY TAIL! TWITCHY TAIL!"

Applejack blanched. Changing the frequency, she screamed, "All call signs hold charge! HOLD!" The M1s in Applejack's battalion immediately came to an abrupt halt, a cloud of dust and sand billowing behind. Bracing herself, she chanced a small peek outside, her ears pricked up as she heard whistling. She cried out and sank back down as the artillery shells rained down just under twenty yards from her. Dirt and sand blew into the air, caking the tanks' armor for several seconds before it all stopped. Poking her head back up, she saw several large holes where the shells had impacted, still smoking. A couple even had the un-exploded shells sticking out of the sand. Those would need to be marked later for disposal.

Swallowing and tugging at her collar, she grabbed her radio again. "All call signs, resume charge. Lieutenant Colonel, thanks for the warning."

"No prob! We're gonna get back to sending the Gryphons their invitations now." Pinkie turned back to her pink-helmeted troops and pointed to the dozen M777 howitzers set up just on the ridge below her. Below that ridge were eight M270 MLRSs, their massive missile launchers aimed east. She held up her hand, signaling them to all load. It took less than a minute for the guns to be loaded.

"The Gryphons have been invited to a party." She swung her arm forward. "IN HELL!"

Like a domino effect, the howitzers fired into the air, sending their rounds deep into the desert. The missile launchers fired as well, cluster and high explosive rockets ripping into the enemy positions beyond.

Applejack watched as the missiles flew overhead and slammed into the ground. Seeing pieces of tanks flying in all directions put a smile on the faces of her crew.

Applejack called for a halt as she and the rest of her battalion crested a dune. Ahead was a dug in position of infantry and armor that were popping up with every small arms weapon in the Gryphnian arsenal. Regardless of facing tanks, they prepared to fire. Applejack could barely make them out, but she recognized conscripts when she saw them. These were gryphons that had been drafted, or volunteered themselves, for frontline service. Rushed into combat with only the knowledge to shoot, charge, or run away. Some were patriots who stood, the rest were barely old enough to have graduated school before handed a weapon. They didn’t even have body armor, just heavy coats and boots with old helmets. Regardless, Applejack grimaced and aimed her machine gun as the conscripts aimed at her. Their bullets would do nothing, she knew that, and even worse, they knew it.

These Gryphons were sent to die.

"You're just kids," she hissed under her breath. Beside her, soldiers were pouring out of their Armored Personnel Carriers and began to take up positions. Equestrians, Hippogriffs, Crystals, and Saddles began rushing around the tanks. She yelled down to the nearest Lieutenant leading them, "They're here against their will! Take prisoners if you can!"

The Hippogriff knelt down next to her tank and frowned. "No promises, ma'am. But we will certainly try." He grabbed his radio and relayed the order. The soldiers around her began fixing their bayonets and aimed down range. Charging the handle on her machine gun, Applejack ordered the tanks to fire on the armor as the AEGIS soldiers charged the line. Applejack let out a stream of hot lead into the Gryphons when the armor was given the order to cover the infantry.

"Get out of here, ya'll," she murmured towards the conscripted gryphons, even as she fired. "You're just kids! Get out of here!"

The lines, though heavy, was charged by AEGIS.

"Charlie Actual, this is Charlie three-one! We've confirmed reports that those M1s leading the charge are armed with some kind of new round! They're tearing apart the second and third ranks!"

The Gryphon General snarled. He had faced this Tank Colonel with the three apples before, but this was the first time he had actually seen her charging ahead of her own tanks. He quickly grabbed his radio. "You hold that line with everything you've got, Captain! Fire everything you have! Throw your dead at them if you find a way to do that! I've already sent word to – "

"YARRGH!" The General yanked the radio away as he was cut off by a burst of static before he looked to Charlie's lines. Pulling up his binoculars, he spied a fighter peeling away from Charlie's last known area, the position marked by plumes of smoke and two overturned tanks. That model, F-14A Tomcat, Equestrian Royal Air Force, a plane so outdated even Gryphnia was no longer making them. He stared at the tail and the emblem that adorned it, and then swallowed as he pulled down his binoculars.

"Kings save us all." He grabbed his radio and changed frequencies. "All planes! The Ghost has arrived! Do everything you can to shoot her down!"

Rhapsody banked again, sending a volley from her cannon along a stretch of aluminum bunks. Explosions followed her wake, sending flames and thick, black smoke into the air. Gryphons ran for their lives even as Rhapsody banked and made another run. One of the remaining AA guns turned towards her and began to fire. It only managed to barely graze her before she sent one of her missiles right into the center. The gun, and the crew, burst into flames. Grimacing, she surveyed the area. The entire fuel depot had been knocked out. Judging by the amount of barrels and stockpiles she had hit with both bombs and cannon, these flames would be burning for days, if not longer.

Her missile alarm suddenly blared. Spitfire turned around, calling, "Su-35. Closing fast."

Rhapsody pushed her throttle up as she banked to the left. The Super Flanker kept close pursuit, giving bursts from the cannon. Pushing further ahead to get out of gun range, she maintained her weave until the missile track warning sounded again. Grabbing her throttle, she waited, thankfully not for long. The lock warning blared; Rhapsody yanked her throttle back and hit her air brakes. The Tomcat lurched and shook violently as airspeed went to near zero and she began to drop.

The Super Flanker flew right above her, barrel rolling to avoid a collision. Rhapsody shoved her throttle forward again and aimed her reticule as she gained some thrust. "Fox two!" she cried. The missile show off her rail and sliced into the enemy fighter's tail. The entire plane went up in flames and careened to the desert floor.

"Ghost Wing, sitrep!"

"This is Banshee," Sprig cried. "We've got the enemy gunships on the run. Some of them are taking potshots, but so far the Marines are still proceeding. Somepony thought ahead and gave them stingers."

"Shade here, we've got the Colonel's front lines clear and they are steamrolling through to the secondary line!"

"Phantom. I've got some trouble here, but Ice Pick sent a few to back us up. We're a little rocky here over the Commissar's troops, but we're proceeding as planned."

Babs waited for the gunship's volley to cease before taking a little peek around the corner. It tilted to get an angle around the street of the village before an AEGIS fighter with a spectral horse insignia sent a missile right into the center of it. The helicopter exploded and rained down into the street. Grinning, she waved for her fellow Marines to follow.

"Was that Wraith One?" one of her Marines asked, watching the Hornet fly off.

Babs shook her head. "Nah, she flies an older plane. Can't remember which, but I promise we'll know her when we see her." She patted the Marine's chest. "Let's get those spotter scopes up for the artillery kids on those two buildings there. Sniper teams on the roofs."

"Moving, Ma'am." Waving back, three Marines began to follow him up. One of them stumbled up the steps, Babs musing that his mother probably didn't know he was out playing Marine. He had also been complaining about sand getting in his rifle. Shaking her head, she waved for the rest of the platoon to fan out and set up their designated points.

Sighing, she looked back around the village. The ruined buildings long abandoned by their occupants. Recent or ancient, it was haunting. With a frown, she huffed. "Damn I miss Manehatten."

Rhapsody sent another missile into the tail of an F-2A. Mythic had called them Fighting Falcon knock-offs. She smirked when she had first seen them; she rather liked the blue paint scheme. However, this particular fighter, which was now a burning crater on the desert floor, had sent a pair of land-attack missiles into a pair of Hibernian tanks, destroying them, that were covering the Marines setting up in the abandoned village. It was her fifth kill of the day.

Still, the battle was far from over, and she was heading back to reload.

AEGIS was pushing forward on the ground as two more fighter wings entered the fray. She grinned as she spied the A-10s from Reaper wing joining the fight. Last she saw them, they were waving goodbye as she and Ghost Wing were leaving the Crystal Empire. She didn't see Vulture wing escorting them. Rather, it was Hellcat. The Navy fighters from the HMS Fairweather; she had spoken to several of the pilots during her time on the ship while her Tomcat was getting repaired.

"That you coming at us, Wraith?" one of the pilots called.

"Sure is! You sea-skippers get bored yet? Thought I'd be bombing Gryphnia myself."

Rhapsody and the two wings flew by each other. That same pilot laughed. "You wish, Wraith. You getting rearmed?"

"Used the last of my bombs on the fuel depot."

"Roger that. Hey was that a Wonderbolt helmet I spied behind you? Spitfire?"

Spitfire chuckled. "Get in the fight, Chisel. Get your kills in while Wraith and I are getting fixed up."

Applejack swore again. Pulling her eyes away from her scope, she fumbled with her shirt to get it off to her bra. "I swear it's getting hotter in here," she grumbled.

"Feels like it, maaaaaaaaa..." The turret began to slowly turn to the left, making Applejack lose her target.

"Eyes forward, Sergeant." The turret immediately yanked back to the forward position. Guiding her gunner, who was now having his head held forward by her radiopony so he was not eyeing the Colonel. "Two-hundred meters. Send it!"

The tank's main gun erupted in a tiny rainbow as the ramjet shell shot forward, piercing the T-90 firing in her direction. The ammunition typically stored in a circle around the turret detonated and the tank was blown apart, the turret flying off and landing with a resounding crash. Two more M1s beside fired their own guns of the same round. The exact same effect on the Gryphnian tanks and the BMPs nearby.

Another group of tanks began to replace them, but not before taking hits from an artillery barrage from afar. Pinkie and her brigades were laying down heavy firepower on all fronts, and shouting 'Twitchy tail!' when the need arose. She had already instructed the tank commanders with her that, 'When Pinkie's a'twitchin', you better listen.'

"Hey Colonel," one of the Imperial tank commanders called. "Is it true? Wraith is in the skies?"

"Can't be. Haven't seen a Tomcat for a couple hours now."

"I think she's here!"

"Gotta be a lie. Morale booster and all."

Applejack grabbed her radio and called out, "I don't care if it's a lie. Just tell everypony that Wraith is here! We're in a giant litter box and I'm almost down to my skivvies it's so hot in here. If this battle will go faster if everypony thinks she's here, then say it!" Hanging it up, she frowned immensely. She didn't like lying to her troops, Element of Honesty be damned. But these troops were suffering, and if a little fib was enough to keep them going, she had to relent.

"Where are ya, flygirl?"

Rhapsody throttled up, her afterburners screaming.

The ordinance crews had already set up a pallet for her and rushed to her plane's side when she had come to a halt. They had definitely been training, even with unicorns using their magic, and had her ready to take off in less than fifteen minutes. And now, with her wings folded back, her tail wrapped around her left leg, and her ears back, she was soaring at supersonic to return to the fight. Behind her, contrails began to form as the Tomcat screamed across the sky.

Babs heard the sonic boom and turned towards the center line. Slinging her rifle back, she pulled out her binoculars and looked. Grinning, she watched the Tomcat tear through the blue. The spectral horse on the tail, the harp cutie mark on the nose.

"I knew she was here!"

The Marine beside her pulled out his own binoculars. She thought she'd have to catch him before he fell off the roof from jumping. "Guys! Wraith is here! We're gonna win this!"

The resounding roar of 'Oorah' echoed through the village. "We'll win this!" the younger Marine cried. "She'll get us out of here!"

"That fighter there! Did you see its tail?"

Commissar Karat heard the two soldiers and narrowed his eyes in the direction of their pointed fingers. He recognized the model of the fighter and grinned.

"The Ghost has arrived! The battle is ours!"

The soldiers behind him roared a cheer as they resumed their charge.

Rhapsody sent a volley from her cannon into the fuselage of the Tornado-IDS as it abandoned its strafing run on a group of Saddle Arabian tanks moving to support the center line. It exploded with the crew barely escaping in time. Not watching the impact, the pegasus mare turned her nose downwards and let one of her bombs explode outside a building with a pair of mortar launchers on top. The building collapsed on top of the munitions stockpile that went off, baking the inside and destroying it and the buildings nearby.

As the debris rained down, the Gryphon soldiers shook themselves and tried to see where the hit came from.

"Look up there!" one of them cried.

"It can't be!"

"The fighter with the Ghost insignia! It's the Grim Reaper!"

"Second defensive line crumbled! All call signs, keep on the pressure! Charge that third line like no tomorrow!" Sky Gazer called.

"All wings, put everything you've got into making sure those tanks get a smooth trip right to the front door!" Rhapsody called. The fighters around her regrouped, and Rhapsody spied a series of dots on the horizon. She narrowed her eyes, but the heat was making it difficult to spot exactly what they were. "Sky Gazer, tally ho on what appears to be ten bandits closing fast."

"Negative, Wraith, scopes are clear. Might be some birds. Clear up that signal!"

"Tango's in visual range," the lead pilot called. "All Ridgebacks, cleared to engage. Hydra wing, target those tanks and take out as many as you can. We'll be covering your retreat."

"Roger that. Engaging."

The eight F-117 Nighthawks dropped altitude, weapon compartments opening as they bared down on the approaching AEGIS tanks. Above them, the twelve F-22 Raptors of Ridgeback throttled up to engage.

"I see them!" Sprig shouted. "Bloody Raptors! They're sending F-22s way out here! I even see a few Nighthawks!"

"Stealth fighters!" Rhapsody shouted. "Everypony engage! Keep those tanks safe down there. Emerald, Hellcat, take out those Nighthawks. Everypony else, on the Raptors!"

Applejack glared forward, spying the Nighthawks closing fast. It may be broad daylight, but their anti-air couldn't hit them properly. Hissing, she cursed stealth fighters and sank back into her tank. General Black Forest suddenly called out, "All tanks keep your heads down. All AA guns concentrate on the air. Fire in bursts; we don't want to hit our pilots. Just keep pushing forward at top speed and you'll make it to the enemy command center! Spread out and dodge as best you can; let the air forces handle them!"

Biting her lip, she put her eyes back to her viewfinder. "You heard the General, everypony. Keep going and don't stop for nothin'!"

As she said that, one of the Nighthawks dove down, dropping part of its payload. One of the Imperial Laclercs ahead of her was struck dead on. The smart bomb slammed into the turret and the whole tank blew apart, sending the entire tank a good few feet in the air before it slammed back into the sand. Applejack's driver was forced to nearly ram another tank to get out of the way of the debris. She didn't bother asking for survivors. She knew that sort of explosion; there were none.

Taking a quick look upwards, she saw a (Applejack smirked at the analogy) swarm of hornets that were chasing the Nighthawks away. It was a swift fight; Nighthawks were notorious for their inability to make tight turns, relying on stealth to get them out of trouble. The AEGIS hornets, she belatedly realized, were Crystal Empire and Equestrian Navy, the former with green painted along the wings and tails. They fired left and right, forcing more than one to eject, abandon their bomb run, or kick the afterburners to get as far away as possible.

A few got their hits in before being taken down, but, Applejack mused, it could have been much worse.

The tanks continued their advance towards the enemy command base.

Emerald and Hellcat joined the fray.

"They're outnumbered now!" Ice Pick cried. The young crystal pony let off a burst, scraping the Raptor's wingtip, but otherwise leaving it unscathed.

"But they're still stealth fighters, everypony," Rhapsody reminded him swiftly. "They got the advantage. Just stay on your triggers, and we'll get them downed."

A sight she thought she'd never see, Rhapsody pulled up behind a Raptor. The nimble plane twisted and turned, seeming to dance through the fight. Her reticule was refusing to follow it, unable to get a missile lock. She was forced to use her gun and squeezed off a number of bursts. The Raptor twisted and dove for the sand. Rhapsody rolled and pulled down into pursuit, but the Raptor had already gone. Swearing she scanned the skies.

"On our six!" Spitfire yelled.

Yelping, Rhapsody throttled up to grab sky. The Raptor followed the retreating Tomcat into the blue, tearing a number of slowly gathering clouds apart as they raced into the sky. Biting her lip behind her oxygen mask, she yanked her throttle back as the missile tone sounded. Falling backwards, she bared down on the Raptor and sent a burst from her cannon directly through the cockpit. She made out a burst of red behind the canopy and the fighter began to drop.

"One down! I need a tally."

"I barely have a reading, Wraith," Sky Gazer cried. "They're too fast and practically invisible!"

An explosion to her right caused Rhapsody to turn and see Mythic rolling after downing another Raptor. "Just shoot them with your cannon! It'll make an opening good enough for your radar to track with a missile."

Rhapsody grinned. "Good enough for me." Deciding to test, she began pursuing an enemy fighter that was trying to sneak behind Ice Pick. She gave a burst of her cannon, forcing it away.

"Ridgeback One! You've been engaged by the Ghost!"

"Damn it! I'll get her!"

Rhapsody and Spitfire swerved through the fray of AEGIS and Gryphnia fighters as she chased her quarry through the clouds. Her radar was unable to detect it, but her eyes could see it just fine. Her wings and tail hugged her body as she pushed her throttle up to keep pace. Her teeth ground together as her wrist began to feel sore from all the twisting and turning she had to do to keep pace. Finally, the enemy pilot flew straight. She readied her cannon –

She had barely began to spin it up before the Raptor suddenly flipped, somersaulting cleanly over the Tomcat.

"Oh that is not fair!" Rhapsody yelled as she pulled upwards and away. Her missile warning blared as she weaved in and out of his range. Her warning refused to be silenced though as her Tomcat began to strain from the rapid movements that it was not designed for. Finally, she looked upwards, and suddenly an idea formed in her head.

"Major, hold on to something!" she called back.

"The hell do I think I've been doing since this started?" Spitfire retorted.

Banking sharply, Rhapsody pulled the Tomcat up into the air, pulling a wide helix. "Where is – There!"

"What are you doing?" Spitfire asked.

"Get ready to close your eyes," Rhapsody replied. She began to climb straight up into the air. The enemy Raptor began to climb with her, her missile warning began blaring again, but her opponent wasn't firing yet. She had hoped for that otherwise it'd be a long way down. She was heading straight for the clouds, narrowing her eyes and praying to the Mother Mare this would work. She kept climbing up, nearing the cloud cover.

"Wanna let me in on your plan?" Spitfire asked.

"Not yet... just be ready."

"Not sure what for, or what to do, but okay."

The Tomcat kept screaming to the blue yonder, until finally they penetrated the clouds and began to push through them. Rhapsody counted in her head. She knew this type of cloud she was currently flying through. Just a few hundred more feet and she'd be right she wanted.

"Here we go!"

The Gryphon pilot hovered his talon over his missile launch button. The Tomcat thought to try and use the clouds as cover, but that was child's play; a tactic reserved for the early days of dogfighting. As the cone of grey clouds began to fade, he broke through the clouds, still on the Tomcat's tail.

"Ridgeback One, fox t-" The Tomcat suddenly did its own flip.

He glared straight into the sun.

Screeching, he let go of his controls. The canopy did little to shade him. The sudden burst of sunlight directly into his eyes was enough. "Son of a bitch!" he screamed. "I can't see! I can-" A cacophony of bullets tore through his fuselage.

Her reticule lined up and radar locked onto the burning holes. "Fox two!"

Rhapsody jammed down her button, sending the spear of death from its rail and into the turbines of the Raptor. It exploded in a furious blast and dropped into the clouds below. Grinning triumphantly, she banked and pulled down into the fighting she was sure going on below.

"That... was old school, Wraith," Spitfire complimented. "Very old, but apparently it still works."

"I saw that in a movie once if you can believe it." She suddenly frowned. "Only that time, the debris landed on someone."

Spitfire huffed. "It's a big desert, but I doubt it's gonna hit anything."

"Twitchy tail!"

Applejack's dropped her radio and her tank screeched to a halt, nearly getting rammed in the back by a Challenger that was following too closely. Poking her head out of the turret, she was greeted by flaming fighter debris slamming into the desert in front of her. Crying out in shock, she dropped back down into the tank before coming back up and looking into the sky.

She caught sight of a Tomcat. She snarled and shook her fist in the air.

"How many more times are ya'll gonna try to drop shit on mah head!?"

"General! Our fighters are getting wiped out up there! It's like the Ghost has her own squadron of – " The female gryphon grimaced as she stared down at the lifeless body of her General. A single gunshot wound was in his chin, his pistol still in hand and a puddle of crimson spreading beneath his head. Slowly removing her cap, she murmured a prayer and turned around to head back inside. The command center was still bustling with gryphons burning documents and trying to get a hold of anything to destroy that AEGIS might use.

Needless to say, not much was going to be found when they were done.

"The General is dead," she murmured softly.

Even in the chaos of the room, they all stopped and stared at her. Tears began streaking down her face, and a few others joined her. Swallowing, she had to assume the command her Uncle had unceremoniously left her with. "Keep burning everything. AEGIS gets nothing but a hole in the sand in this attack. I want non-essential personnel in their APCs and the choppers taking off. Anyone who can still fight and wants to stay, Kings be with you. Those of you who don't, I will not call you a coward. Live to fight another day, I say, and get yourselves out of here."

"Belay that!"

All noise stopped in the room and turned to the owner of the yell. The young Gryphon officer stared and everyone who could snapped to a salute or a bow.

"Y-your Majesty! Wh-what are you doing out here?"

Marcus strode swiftly into the room and stood in the center. "Who's in charge?" he asked.

The officer held up her claws. "I am, sire."

He regarded her sternly. "I want every white cloth we have up in the air. No one else dies today. This battle ends now." The Gryphons in the room stared at him, and then exchanged glances at each other. Marcus looked around the room and hissed. "Now!"

"My Lord," one of the officers replied. "We got word from Fyrick that you had been banished. Your... orders really don't mean anything to us."

"You heard the Prince! Fight another day. We know what the King does to deserters and cowards." Now they were looking at the young officer who had taken command. "I don't care that he was banished. He was still born royal and his order is greater than mine. There's some sheets in a crate in the back of the complex. Everyone who can grab one fly into the air and hold them up." Reluctantly, the gryphons began to move to carry out the order. Marcus huffed and turned to the nearby Gryphon holding a radio who was relaying retreat orders. The former Prince aimed a claw at him.

"Find the AEGIS frequency and tell them I want to speak with the one in charge."

Leveling out, Rhapsody observed the battlefield around her. Everywhere she looked, Raptors were being driven off or shot down. She grinned behind her oxygen mask after seeing a pair of Gold Wing's pilots teaming up to put holes in the stealth fighters before sending a missile into it. This tactic was used by everypony in the air until finally, fromwhat she could see, the remaining Gryphons were retreating.

"Sky Gazer here," Scootaloo called. "Radar is showing all remaining enemy aircraft retreating. The ground forces are pulling back as well. The Command Center is open to attack."

"This is Colonel Pie! Awaiting laser designation to level it."

"Colonel Apple here! Armor is waiting for a final charge."

"All ground forces proceed forward at regular speed," General Black Forest called. "All planes, drop your remaining ordinance on anything that looks threatening. Afterwards, pull back and I'll give the order to charge."

Rhapsody adjusted her gloves. "All wings, switch to ground attack. Form up on me; we're going to do this in a single run!"

Tomcat leading the charge, Gold, Windigo, Emerald, Saber, Timberwolf, Hellcat, and Reaper formed a triangle behind her and dropped altitude. Switching to her bombs, Rhapsody's thumb hovered over the release button. She heard Mythic and Sprig making wagers on who could take out more in a single pass. Mythic's Typhoon was armed with bomblets and Sprig with missiles that could only target one at a time. But she knew the hippogriff well, and she could probably –

"All forces be advised, we might have something here," Black Forest called. "Keep going, I'll let you all know if anything changes."

Her brow quirked, Rhapsody turned to Mythic on her left. The other pegasus simply shrugged at her. "Hold off on the attack, Wraith, Spitfire murmured. "Something in my gut tells me something big is about to happen."

Sprig grunted an agreement, adding, "I got that itch at the base of my tail again. I – Wait... anyone else see that ahead?"

"Crosshair here," Greg from saber called. "I see it too. Looks like – "

"All forces abandon charge! Repeat! Abandon charge!" Black Forest yelled.

Rhapsody blinked, the words almost not registering. Once the clouds cleared, she saw she was over the command center. There were AA guns and SAM sites all over the base, but none of them had been aimed upwards. The only thing in the air were white sheets and –

White sheets? Rhapsody yelped and pulled up, nearly taking a pair of Gryphons with her. "Pull up! All fighters PULL UP!" The remaining fighters, almost over two dozen immediately pulled up and away from their attack runs. Like a swarm of birds escaping a bigger bird, the AEGIS fighters banked, rolled, flipped, anything to avoid hitting the Gryphon base. "Wraith to General Black Forest! Two Gryphons are waving white flags above the base."

"They aren't the only ones," Amethyst called out. "I'm seeing white all over the base. There's hundreds of Gryphons down there!"

Commissar Karat somehow got through the frequency and roared, "It has to be a trick! We should resume the charge! They're feigning this surrender!"

Black Forest yelled back, "I'm ordering you to stand down Commissar! This surrender order came directly from Prince Marcus."

Rhapsody blinked. "Prince Marcus? Sharpclaw had another son?"

"That's affirmative, Captain," Black Forest replied. "He's the youngest and therefore not the most publicized. He said he'll explain everything, but only if the rest of his troops are treated fairly and are unharmed. All forces are to abandon the charge. 2nd Battalion, Colonel, you are to enter the base and take control. Remember that none of them are to be harmed. I repeat, none of them are to be hurt in any way! Detain the gryphons but none of them are to be harmed."

"Understood, General. We're moving forward."

Rhapsody banked, looking down towards the desert floor as a score of M1 tanks began to make their way into the base, followed by a few platoons of soldiers. She could see a few groups of gryphons getting to their knees as AEGIS soldiers rounded them up. The AEGIS planes circled a few more times before Sky Gazer called, "Air Force's roll is over for now, General's orders. All aircraft RTB."

Forming up once more, the gathered wings began to head back to their respective bases. Looking back, Rhapsody afforded one more glance at the desert floor. It was littered with the burning hulks of armor from both sides. Tanks and other armor were ruined and strewn across the sand where hundreds were making peace with their ancestors. Around them, more than enough spots in the sand marking the resting places of hundreds of boots who fell in the charges. She sighed and shook her head, looking forward.

"Something wrong, Wraith?" Amethyst asked, pulling up beside her.

Rhapsody slowly shook her head. "This was the largest battle any of us ever fought in. Even Glacier was nothing to this. Hundreds are dead, and we still have a long way to go, more battles. And until we reach Fyrick, they're only going to get bigger. More are going to die."

Mythic caught her attention with a wave of his fighter's wings. "It's almost over, Wraith. Just a couple more pushes and we all go home."

"I'm with Shade, but that itch is still there. Something bigger is about to happen. Anyone else get a feeling the Gryphons are up to something more than reinforcing their capital?"

"We'll worry about it later, Banshee," Spitfire called. "Let's head back to Shavul and get some rest. Like Wraith said, we've still got a long way to go, and rest may become a commodity. We've taken Cider Valley, and Fyrick is just a few days away. The Princesses are going to want everypony at their peak when we get there."

Mythic chuckled. "Does that mean we all finally get mandatory naptime?" The rest of the wings began to chime in with hopeful agreements. Rhapsody actually found herself smiling to herself as Sky Gazer began explaining she would talk to the General when everypony had landed. Cheers rose up and the pegasus stallion led a charge back to the base, Windigo and Gold following close behind him. The rest of the wings were left to slowly catch up.

Looking back once more, Rhapsody spotted the clouds parting to let her get a better view to the east. The Gryphnian capital was just beyond the desert. A few days travel. And with it, the final battle of the war, she could go home and see her mother and brother again, and even her dog, Lucky.

"Just a little further... and we all go home."

Author's Note:

Nearly the end of the war. Fyrick, the Gryphon capital, is on the horizon. One more good fight, and they all go home...

Right?

Comments

[Solana Vin Neighpal]

with a pair of mortal launchers on top.

That... actually sounds like a rather bad ass, albeit hellish, weapon...
"Foolish mortals! You are all on 'ammo duty'!"

[Cpt Celti]

7405722
Whoops xD just now spotted that.