Sky Aces: Aerial Combat

by Yellowtail

Prologue: Trooper, Reporting In

I feel my heart race a bit as I step on the marble flooring of the lobby. Ponies, griffons, hippogriffs, zebras, even changelings are rushing around, making maintenance checks, rushing to meetings, and preparing various positions. However, my focus is on the unicorn woman at the front desk. She’s pale yellow, with blonde bare. Her horn is alight with a blue aura as she keeps some papers next to her while she uses her hands for writing something on another paper. As I walk up, she glances at me before returning her eyes to her work. “Mechanical registrations are to your right sir,” she says. I shake my head.

“Uh, no, I’m here for-“

“Ah, right. The financial management sector is-“ I sigh and pull out a form from my pocket. I unfold it and place it on her desk.

“No, I’m a pilot. I’m here for registration for the Equestrian Air Force.” The mare stops and looks at the form. She looks back up and tries to look around me for my wings.

“... Very well,” she says hesitantly. She squints at the form before muttering to herself. She keeps muttering as she spins her swivel seat to face a filing cabinet next to her. She pulls out a cabinet and rummages through the sorted files before pulling out a paper. She turns back to me and hands it to me. “Here you are Mr...” She glances at my form.

“Trooper Dent, but call me Trooper,” I say, taking the forms. The woman smiles.

“Alright. Good luck Trooper, earth ponies don’t tend to be here long as a pilot,” she says. I nod, giving a half-hearted salute before looking at the papers. “Your barracks are to the right, all the way down the hall. Take care!” I nod in thanks and start walking in that direction. I pass by some pegasi, who look at me in skepticism as I walk by. I pay no attention to them as I keep walking. See, it’s strange for an earth pony like me to be a pilot, since earth ponies normally don’t have a good sense of flight. It’s not impossible, per se, it’s just uncommon. However, I passed the flight tests at flight academy, I have proved myself as a capable pilot. I feel a tap on my shoulder, making me stop and turn to the source. A pegasus guy, a bit taller than me, crosses his arms as he looks me up and down. He has a green collared shirt, and green pants. It’s his flight suit, meaning he’s a pilot. His wings, strangely enough, have bandages on them. His fur is white, like mine, but his mane is grey. A green military cap covers most of his hair.

“... Are you the new nugget?” He asks. I blink in confusion before remember what nugget means.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m the new guy,” I say. “My TAC name’s Grunt.” The pegasus scoffs.

“I don’t expect much from you, but I’ll give you some advice. Try not to die,” he says.

“So, who’re you?” I ask.

“... My TAC is Scar, and I’m your squadron leader. Some warning, you pissed off some people when you signed in. That’s all you need to know right now,” he says. He turns around and starts walking. “We’re going to sortie for patrol in a few minutes. You’ve got ten minutes to get your gear and scramble.” I resist from scowling at him as he walks away. I got here, I’m happy about that much. I turn back and hurriedly rush down the hall. I pull out the paper from before and look at the room number I’m assigned to. Room 444. I open the door, revealing the barracks to have quite a few beds. On one, lays a changeling with his flight suit on. He tilts his head to look at me before laying back down.

“Now I know why I’m on standby. You’ve got bottom bunk next to me,” he says casually, using a thumb to point at the bunk to his right. I sigh inwardly and hurry to the bed he gestured to, tossing my stuff down. I hurriedly change into the flight suit that was neatly folded under the bunk and look at my watch. Five minutes. Great. “The hanger you need to go to is down the hall, right at the end. Your aircraft will be the one with your emblem. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, grunting as I try to hurry up on tying my boots.

“Word of advice, be patient. We lost someone out of pure bad luck recently, and they’re still in a bad mood about it.” I look at the changeling for a second. Why does he seem to calm about it? I stare for another couple of seconds before shrugging it off and going back to what I’m doing. I get up and start walking out. “I hope you’re ready for the sky,” the changeling says, giving a half-hearted wave. I return the gesture and walk out.

I walk down the hall, paying no attention to the glances and sneers as I come up on some doors. I open a door and walk out into a hanger, where two planes are next to each other. Various creatures are running around the place, rushing to their positions and making checks on the aircraft before initial sortie. One creature, a blue hippogriff with silver hair, wearing a flight suit, stands next to one of the air craft. The plane is an F-15E, like the one next to it. The emblem visible on the tail fins is a golden Royal Gaurd’s Helmet, with a spear running through it. A letter ‘G’ is painted in red next to the spearhead. That’s my plane. I pay no attention to the pilot staring at my plane, and walk towards the small stairway going up to the cockpit.

“So, you’re the rookie?” The pilot calls, never looking away from the emblem. I notice my equipment is in the cockpit and quickly put it on. Headset, helmet, oxygen, etc. As I equip the gear, the hippogriff finally looks at me, noticing the lack of wings. “... I hope you can carry your weight,” she says, turning and walking away towards her plane. I look at the plane’s tail to see her emblem. It has half a red heart, with an outline of a yellow shield in front of it. A black line goes down the middle of the shield, like a crack. “The name’s Half-Shield, don’t screw up!” The hippogriff calls, disappearing behind the plane. I give a silent glare after her, but return my attention to the opening doors. Now, I should focus on the mission. The bright light blinds me for a bit, but I hear the go ahead in the radio. I brace myself for the first mission, and hope that I can prove myself to everyone around me.