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A Relaxing... ish Flight2,885 words
The Line Between Student and Master3,036 words
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Contact7,518 words
One Small Step...4,642 words
Interlude: Waking up1,569 words
Stateside2,587 words
Suit Up2,556 words

Contact

Chapter Four

Contact

Scootaloo's hind leg twitched slightly as Rainbow lifted herself up from her resting place. The time had passed slowly, leaving the sun close to the four o'clock position. Still sore from the previous hour's little 'exercise', she painfully extended her wings, flapping and stretching them. She looked back to Scootaloo lying in the grass, rythmatic breathing offering a sense of calm. The smile on the filly's face could lighten up Rainbow's day a thousand times over as the reality set in; Scootaloo was now the second mare in history to perform the Sonic Rainboom. Sure she had a little help, but there was no way she would see her little sister fail of she had anything, to say about it.

"Finally. Thought you'd never wake up," a voice called from above.

Rainbow whirled in shock to see a single cloud and the dark outline of a figure in the center. She flew up, wincing a bit from her stiff wings but making there in about two seconds. Soarin lay there on his stomach, chin on his forehooves and wings flared halfway in a 'what are you looking at' manner. Rainbow's brow shot up and a smile spread across her face as she joined him on the cloud.

"I gotta say, clouds are softer than the softest grass," she sighed out.

"So why'd you decide to sleep in the grass in the first place?" Soarin replied cheekily.

"Heat of the moment?" Rainbow thought out loud.

Soarin scoffed and looked down over the cloud's edge to see a lonely Scootaloo still asleep in the grass.

"So are you gonna let her sleep on the hard ground all day?"

Rainbow blushed as she stood on the edge before suddenly falling backwards off the cloud like a ragdoll. Her wings unfurled at the last second, making her pull up sharply and induce a backwards loop. She landed carefully, closing her sore wings and sitting on her haunches by the sleeping filly. She extended a foreleg out, lightly tapping her on the shoulder and enticing a small mumble. Rainbow swore she heard "five more minutes mom," and her heart skipped a beat... or two.

Scootaloo's eyes shot open, her head lifting with a start. Rainbow's head shot back to avoid a painful chin-to-top-of-head collision.

"Rise and shine kid," she said in a caring tone shrouded by her natural raspiness.

"Hey Rainbow," Scootaloo said as she stretched her legs like Winona. "What time is it?"

Rainbow recalled the position of the sun. "About four."

"Uh oh, I'm late!" She stammered.

Scootaloo rose and stretched her wings, a small sharp inhale emitting as the pain and stiffness showed it's effects. Cautiously flapping, she ruffled her feathers and preened them with expert precision over the course of ten seconds; a record even in Rainbow's book.

"Late for wha-- oh right, your Crusaders meeting. Well you better be off squir, I mean, kid."

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow, confused. Looks like I've finally grown out of "Squirt".

Smiling at her mentor, she turned around and took off with such a force that Rainbow had to shield her eyes from the dust thrown up. Soon, she was merely a black speck heading toward the unknowingly devastated Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow smiled, admiring her recuperation time.

"Geez, after my first Rainboom I couldn't lift my wings after I landed..."

"Hey Dash, I just remembered I gotta get to the Academy. Spitfire is putting together a small three-pony air show, but I'm the only other Wonderbolt she could get. She asked me to ask you if you would be willing to fill in?" Soarin called from the cloud.

Rainbow's wings painfully extended involuntarily as she looked up, a smile stretching ear to ear.

"With bells on my hooves."

Soarin smiled and beckoned her with his hoof, launching off the cloud and leaving it in pieces. Rainbow took off, slowly at first, gaining speed as the silent challenge awakened her competitive nature. The cloud course that Soarin had mocked up earlier was still there, slightly drifting apart and creating even more challenging twists and turns. She followed him into it, a piece of cloud instantly hitting her in the face. She shook her head, clearing the piece of cloud only to have a larger one crash into the entirety of her face, making her slam into and careen out of the side. Regaining her composure, she flew along side the tunnel, looking for another entry. A full minute went on like this, before Soarin finally broke free of the tunnel and flew along side Rainbow. They locked eyes for a moment before beelining it toward the academy. Rainbow's natural speed gave her the edge, and seeing the Academy plateau in the distance, easily rushed ahead of her rival. They both landed with a long skid down the asphalt, panting and smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, keep smiling Rainbow..." he said tauntingly through his panting.

"Hmm, my wings sure do feel better after that little race," she said as she flapped her wings twice, each time sending her five feet into the air. She landed with a loud clop on all fours, eyes again locking with his. "I don't see Spitfire yet, wanna get some grub in the mess hall?" she asked, trying to hide the sudden blush.

"Yea, waiting for you to wake up sure did make me hungry." An audible rumble from his belly met both pairs of ears, "edible hay isn't exactly common around the outskirts of Ponyville."

Her blush reducing slightly, Rainbow led the way from the tarmac to the mess, watching as the pegasi flew overhead through hoops and hearing the occasional scream of a trainee being launched from the Dizzitron. She laughed inwardly at the poor cadet's howl, but at the same time wished him a happy landing. Ah the memories...

Soarin walked behind Rainbow, eyes trying desperately to stay off her toned flank. That cutie mark was the coolest he had ever seen, sure, but the sights didn't cease there. Her unkempt tail and mane fluttered carelessly in the light breeze, accenting her lush cerulean coat. Even though she almost never brushed it, it always retained that natural beauty and straightness he loved in a mare. He quickly turned his gaze away, feeling the arousal beginning to creep between his legs. He directed his thoughts to his first day of Wonderbolt training, and all the horrific screams directed at him. In an instant, his arousal was reduced to zero. Rainbow nudged the door open, and looked back to see a slightly sweaty Soarin stumbling over himself.

"You alright?" She asked, sly smile on her face.

Soarin's cheeks immediately burned like fire and he turned his head, faking a hurt wing.

"N-nothing, just a-a cramped wing that's all. Heh..."

Rainbow raised an unamused eyebrow. "Uh huh..." You aren't doing a very good job at hiding it Soarin...

She turned back toward the door, visibly swaying her hips with each step. Soarin's blush returned with a vengeance, as he watched her go behind the door, body first, then finally her head with her eyes half lidded and locked on his.

"C'mon, I thought you were hungry..." Hook line and sinker...

"C-coming!"

He immediately fell forward, stumbling over his forelegs. He instinctively spread his wings and flapped as hard as he could, sending him into a high back flip. Coming to his senses in mid flight, he closed his wings Smooth Soarin...

Soarin lowered his head a bit, embarrassment creeping everywhere from his spine outward. His legs weakened, and he bit his lower lip to keep from cursing himself. He approached the door to come face to face with Spitfire, and the two exchanged startled glances.

"Spitfire? What's up?" Asked a confused Soarin.

"Oh, hey," her ears laid flat as a worried expression gripped her face, "did you find anypony else for the demonstration?"

"Yea, Rainbow agreed to help and you must've walked right past her as--"

"Hey Spitfire!" Rainbow yelled, rushing up to greet the pair and swallowing a mouthful of hay fries.

"Hey, hey! Whats up Dash? Glad to hear you could fill in for Fleetfoot, that lazy feather brain..."

"Well I've always wanted to be in an actual air show," she said with a smirk. "When do I start learning the moves? The shows in like, a week right?

Spitfire glanced at Soarin before giving herself a violent facehoof. "No Dash." she sighed, "it's in an hour."

Rainbow's face visibly turned a very light cerulean and her pupils reduced to pinpricks. Her eyes darted between Soarin and Spitfire's faces, a tinge of anger sweeping them both.

"Hey, if you can't do it Dash..." Spitfire said, turning away slowly and rolling her eyes.

Rainbow's fire was re-ignited by the accusation and she jumped in front of Spitfire, face now more red than cyan.

"Who said I was scared? I'm just wondering how in Equestria I'm gonna learn an entire airshow in less than fifty minutes?!"

Spitfire raised a hoof, "by not asking questions and paying attention."

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak but a quick tap from Soarin stopped her.

"Fine, I guess a few hay fries is enough. Let's go," Rainbow growled.

Spitfire smiled and raised her eyebrow at Soarin, to which he returned a deep blush and she followed Rainbow from the Mess Hall.

-----

"Miami Center. X-ray Two-One, requesting clearance to land."

The radio was filled with background transmissions, making it difficult to distinguish landing requests from simple chatter and important updates.

"Negative, X-ray, Falcon and Courrier flights are next. Join the pattern."

"X-ray Two-One copy."

He checked his radar, finding Falcon flight of four F-16Xs already on final approach, and Courrier flight of two F-22Cs preparing for a vertical landing procedure. Circling two thousand feet above the air base, Charles accessed the flight logs for Ramstein's Air Traffic landing check-ins.

Xenon, Xanthum, Ah, X-ray. He scrolled down, seeing Three and Four had already landed, but One was still missing. Eh, it's only been two hours. I'm sure he's on approach or something.

"X-ray Two-One you are clear for landing on runway Three."

"X-ray Two-One, copy."

Lining up, he lowered the gear.

"X-ray Two-One Miami Center copy gear down."

The runway met the tires with a loud screech sending eddies of burnt rubber smoke left and right.

"X-ray Two-One base gear, full stop right."

-----

Rainbow positioned herself at Spitfire's left flank, poised for takeoff while Soarin took her right. The entire Academy had turned out for this little "airshow" and the rainbow pegasus was beginning to feel the weight of over one hundred pairs of eyes boring into her. C'mon Rainbow remember, you're just as good if not better than these two. Just remember the moves. The cheering from the sidelines brought her thoughts back into focus. Alright, here we go...

Spitfire tapped the asphalt three times with her hind hoof, signaling the beginning of the show. As planned, the trio extended their wings slowly, letting the sun warm them. The heat spread over their feathers, allowing them to expand for maximum lift; A visual and beneficial display. Rainbow hadn't known this was possible until twenty minutes ago and this confirmed her suspicions why the sun always made her wings feel a bit larger on occasion.

Wings fully extended, the trio began a slow walk, then a slow trot, and finally a full gallop down the runway lifting off in unison. Rainbow and Soarin broke formation in opposite turns left and right, pulling up while Spitfire flew straight and up joining at the peak. Rainbow and Soarin stalled, falling in what looked like a death spiral from the ground. Many ponies below were shuffling in a nervous silence, wondering if this was really a part of the show.

"Three..." The ground was rushing up... "Two..." Individual ponies' faces were now visible in the crowd... "One..." Pebbles could be seen in detail... "Pull!"

Rainbow snapped her wings out with such force, just the motion blew rocks and dirt everywhere as the tips of her hooves made contact against the ground. Looking over, she saw Soarin had done precisely the same, making startled ponies heave a sigh of relief. Remembering the routine completely, Rainbow rejoined Soarin climbing up to where Spitfire was hovering. They sped up, flipping and extending their hind legs as if to kick her. Again, gasps were heard throughout the crowd as the pair "kicked" and shot past her in a rainbow and dark blue 'X'. Spitfire acted as though she had received both of the pegasus' hooves, spiraling from the sky. But the crowd again exhaled as she activated her smoke cartridges, letting the air around her wings twist the smoke into a perfect spiral column. Rainbow and Soarin, still in the x shaped ascent, activated their own smoke, and back flipped straight down. Alright Rainbow, I hope you have enough juice left for another Sonic Rainboom... Dash began feeling the ache return from earlier.

-----

Scootaloo soared over the clouds back toward Sweet Apple Acres. Her thoughts were still locked on the events earlier, as were her wings. Taking off like that did nothing to ease the pain, though it was nice to show Rainbow Dash that she still had some fire left. She rolled on her back, angling her wings up; the result was her diving into the clouds, heading straight down. As she broke free of the transparent sheet, the immediately distinguishable lush greens of Sweet Apple Acres came into view. As she descended, something about the landscape seemed... off. Thousands of apples were strewn across the soft green and tree trunks lay flat. Getting closer, she made out a very long thin dark line stretching out across the entire South Field. On opposite ends of the line, trees were either gone or knocked over facing away. Close to some fallen trees, she made out five distinct figures, the colors of which matched those of the Apple family and Sweetie Belle.

She landed close by with a loud "umph!", making all heads turn towards her.

"Scootaloo!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shouted in unison; their voices had matured a tad deeper since graduation.

Applejack walked behind the two running fillies who moved in to tackle Scootaloo. To their surprise, she flapped once, sending her high above as the two wingless fillies attempted a mid-air tackle. Applebloom skillfully vaulted on her forehooves, flipping forward and landing on all fours. Sweetie Belle on the other hand being less skilled in bucking maneuvers, landed flat on her face letting out a sharp yelp as her horn dug into the ground. Applebloom looked up where Scootaloo was hovering with little to no effort, holding in a laugh as Sweetie Belle audibly struggled to pull her head from the dirt.

"Hey girls, whats up?"

"You, obviously. When'd ya learn ta do that?"

Scootaloo visibly shuddered. "Two months under Rainbow Dash's wing was enough. This is nothing."

Sweetie Belle finally dislodged her head and used her magic to remove the mud from her horn and face.

"Hey Scoots! How was trai-- wow!"

Her eyes grew larger than normal when she saw her friend hovering seemingly on her back, examining her hooves.

"Wow, Scoots, the last time we saw you, you couldn't get a bottle of glue from the top shelf!"

Blushing, she quickly retorted, "Gee, Sweetie last time I saw you, you couldn't lift a textbook page with that magic and now you're moving whole globs of mud!"

Sweetie bit her lower lip, unable to think of anything before Applebloom and Scootaloo burst into laughter. She shrugged and joined in, laughing until Scootaloo landed among them. The orange filly embraced them both in a long hug, and received Applebloom's trademark "Anaconda Special." The world began to swim when Scootaloo finally shrugged her off, as she was left gasping for air.

"Geez, Applebloom! Calm yourself!"

"Sorry, Scoots, I just ain't seen ya in forever! Your wings got bigger!"

The mentioning of her wings made them cringe, as she remembered her state of exhaustion.

She looked around at the devastation, wondering.

"So girls..." she said as she looked at them intently, "what happened around here? Looks like a giant knife sliced the field like a cake or some--"

Applebloom held up a hoof, silencing her. "Sweetie here might be able to explain better. I was underwater," she emphasized, eying Sweetie Belle with narrowed eyes.

Sweetie Belle sighed, stood, and walked over to a massive fallen tree. She motioned Scootaloo over, poising her left foreleg under the branches as if to lift them. "Sorry Scoots..." she whimpered as she lifted the foliage to reveal their clubhouse; now in a heap of scrap metal and wooden splinters.

Scootaloo gasped as she looked, fluttering over the fallen tree and over to the wreckage. Posters, trinkets, even her Rainbow Dash figurines were destroyed or irreparably damaged. She teared up as the memories they all shared at this once cherished place came back, and she lay in the rubble putting a hoof on a large piece of wood with a target painted on it. No great ideas now huh? She winced at the thought. "What happened?!" she growled.

Her tone knocked Sweetie Belle off guard, and she lowered her ears in shock while Applebloom returned her outburst in kind. Always the strong one...

"Whoa girl, cool it. It all happened a few hours ago, some rainbow colored wave or something came down from the sky and did all this," she said, sitting on her haunches in order to wave her forelegs in as big a circle as she could.

Scootaloo's chest felt like it was going to explode as her face felt like ice and fire. She flopped to her haunches, her eyes wide and staring into the ground as if they were drills. Thi-this is my fault?! She looked up, once again eying the devastation. Dear Celestia, how? She wanted to punch herself in the face so, SO badly, but a part pf her said not to, not here at least.

"Uh, you alright sugar cube?" Applejack asked, placing a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder.

She looked up, blinking her now dried out eyes and revealing a whitish orange face. Applejack backed off, seemingly surprised. Scootaloo quickly put on her best 'shake if off' face, but her friends weren't convinced. Well not Applebloom at least.

"There somethin' ya wanna talk about Scoots?" Applebloom asked suspiciously...

-----

"Ok Rainbow! Go for it!"

Spitfire's words rang out like a pistol shot, sending a rush of energy from her core to power her failing wings. She dove immediately, watching as the plateau below became larger and larger... then she heard it. A massive crash of thunder deafened her and made her halt her dive. She looked around, dumbfounded at the interruption. An enormous flash of lightning just grazed the tip of her tail, and she flipped around to see a massive storm swirling and churning into itself.

"Ok, who's in charge of the weather around here?!" She called

A light grey pegasus with a blonde mane shrunk, and backed out of the crowd slowly.

With a massive storm hovering over the Academy, any aerial demonstration was a bad idea, the risk of electric shock being too great.

"Hey Spitfire, could you and Soarin clear that storm? I need my strength for this trick!"

Spitfire and Soarin complied, flying over to the enormous mass of violet clouds. Murmuring from the ground increased as the storm only seemed to grow in size. Lightning turned darker seemingly with each strike, and the thunder began taking a strange sound only heard from the famous DJ-PON3's so called "speakers".

"Spitfire! Try not to get too --" Soarin's words caught in his throat as a massive bolt of black lightning arced and hit Spitfire directly in the neck. close...

She dropped like a rock, one wing closed and the other twitching, making her spiral into the lower clouds. She tumbled through them as they slowed her fall, and she finally met the solid clouds beneath. The impact came with a mind numbingly loud crunch and she cried out in pain. Soarin and Rainbow were at her side in seconds, only to find her left wing severely misshapen. She was breathing heavily, eyes wide and fur charred at the ends. Another massive bolt shattered a nearby cloud before jumping to another, blowing it apart.

"Rainbow, we can't stay here, we gotta move her!"

Rainbow nodded, placing her forehooves under Spitfire's shoulders, lifting her from the cloud. She screamed in pain, before her eyes rolled back and she went limp.

"Forgive me Spitfire," Rainbow said, throwing her off the cloud.

She fell like a rag doll, trailing blackened feathers and her goggles fell from her face. Swooping down, Rainbow caught Spitfire's tail with her teeth, before using her forelegs to get an effective cradle going. However, she had misjudged her weight and her wings began to fail from the new and unexpected strain.

"Soarin! I need help!"

Soarin was still watching the storm as it grew exponentially in size, and he saw something within begin pulsing with a light bright enough to pierce the violet clouds. Thunder rang out behind him as he dove to Rainbow's side, taking Spitfire's limp body in his hooves.

The sky began to darken and the wind picked up as frightened trainees and even instructors began rushing into the Mess Hall. They had all seen what happened to their leader, and they knew this was no ordinary storm. The fact that it had appeared out of nowhere was another unsettling matter that only intensified the fear among the pegasi.

Soarin brought Spitfire to the main office that was mere feet from the runway. He bucked the door open, and flew in setting her down on the small guest sofa. She was convulsing with lingering electricity and the ends of her primary feathers were blackened to a crisp.

"Hang on Spitfire, I'll go get the trauma kit."

-----

Rainbow landed on the tarmac folding her exhausted wings and looking up at the storm. It had grown dark, even though the sun was in plain view; it was nothing more than a big semi-bright ball now. She watched as the storm grew further still, the light within pulsating faster and faster. Arc after arc of unnatural black lightning flashed around, obliterating clouds and several rings in the obstacle course. One bolt managed to take out the Dizzitron's control panel, making the pony at the station fly backwards and hit several fleeing trainees. Chaos was the only way to describe what the "storm" was causing.

Rainbow galloped into the office, seeing Spitfire seizing and twitching on the sofa. She ran to her side, moving in to touch her forehead. She quickly found out through a tiny bolt of black that touching her was a very bad idea. She jerked her injured hoof back, looking at the burnt fur surrounding it.

"Ow," she said quietly.

Spitfire opened bloodshot eyes and throatily laughed, "S-sor-r-ry..."

Her breathing was growing more erratic by the second; the electricity still inflicting unseen damage. Soarin flew into the room, a large bag with a lightning bolt stitched into the side.

"Alright Spitfire, this might sting a little..."

He removed the plastic protector from the needles, and administered a brightly glowing blue serum into her thigh via a large glass and metal three needled gun. Hew jaw clamped down and she fought not to wet herself as the pain ripped through her pelvis and legs. Finally, after several agonizing minutes she began to relax, the electricity finally leaving her body in the form of extreme static cling on the couch. Her burnt feathers molted and patches of her burnt coat fell away. Her breathing steadily slowed, but was still deep and uneven. Her jaw slacked and her tongue lolled from her mouth. Rainbow felt safe to touch her and she was astonished by Spitfire's rapid pulse. She would still need proper medical attention before the day was up.

Rainbow turned her attention to the storm raging outside. There was no rain, just a strange darkness along with a bright light pulsating within. A roar not unlike a mantecor's began filling the air as she stepped outside. She extended her wings, flapping and lifting into the air. She was careful not to get near the storm as it increased in ferocity and size. The roar grew louder as the white light in the middle suddenly and deliberately tripled in size, blowing all surrounding clouds away. Black lightning flashed everywhere around it, and it seemed to open in a wide tunnel-like fixture. She flew to where she could look into it, squinting from the intense light.

"Soarin! Get out here!"

He didn't have time to, as something appeared in the farthest reaches of the tunnel.

It grew fast, the roar encompassing the tunnel creating a cannon of sound. She flattened her ears as the sound grew in intensity, and something was upon her. In the instant she knew it was too late to dodge, she felt herself being violently pulled to one direction. She fought the force, flailing her legs and pushing it away. It was then Soarin called her name; from right beside her.

"Got ya!"

To say Rainbow was shocked was an understatement. Soarin slowed to a hover as she quickly wriggled out of his grasp, giving him a shaky but warm smile. Without a word, she sniffed the air, grimacing and looking in the direction the massive object flew. Soarin broke from his daze and repeated the gesture with equal results. They both noticed that the storm had vanished without a trace, along with the roar it encompassed.

"Go get Scoots. Make sure nothing happens to her," Rainbow commanded in a shaky voice.

Soarin nodded, turning towards the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and let a sigh of disappointment be heard.

Wow Soarin, thanks for saving my life and all, I'm sooo-- His mocking thoughts were interrupted by a hoof on his shoulder, pulling him around. Now face to face, Rainbow grabbed him in a tight hug, planting a rough kiss right on his muzzle. Both Rainbow and Soarin's cheeks could've made a red delicious jealous as they stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Uh, so, I better go see what that thing is..." Rainbow stuttered.

Soarin just hovered there, eyes wide.

"So yea, go get Scoots for me huh?"

"Yeah i'll uh..." He faltered his sentence, falling from Rainbow's grasp. He opened his wings just in time to shoot a few inches above the runway. He found a good tailwind, rocketing toward Sweet Apple Acres. Despite the brewing dilemma, his smile could have lit the way if it was dark out.

-----

Allen regained consciousness as the jet leveled out and the auto pilot took over. Still groggy, he lifted his left sleeve and examined his watch. 17:39. He shook his head slightly, trying to get is vision back into focus. That was some maneuver... He examined the screen, finding nothing to be damaged despite the horrendous G force that had been applied earlier. Looking out from the canopy, the vector bar and heading followed his helmet, but for some reason was glitching. It kept spinning, displaying vector twenty seven when he looked South, but then again, he wasn't sure which direction was which anymore. He grasped the stick and throttle, the pulse in his hands through his gloves alerting the F-35's computer to relieve the autopilot. Well that's new.

He lightly pulled the stick left and right, the F-35 responding smartly. Ailerons, check. He pulled down, and the F-35 smoothly transitioned from level flight into a comfortable one and a half G climb. He reversed the motion, negative Gs making him rise slightly from the seat. Elevators, check. His vision flooded with red as the blood rushed to his brain. He was never accustomed to negative Gs. His head stopped swimming as he leveled out and a very disturbing feature caught his eye. The altimeter read just under negative forty feet. He tapped the gauge, wondering if it was a mechanical glitch. No response. The altimeter hovered just under fifty now.

Something prompted him to look outside where the open sky defied the altimeter's reading. Clouds were seemingly placed in a sort of pattern, and they actually looked solid. Curious, he banked into one and his left wingtip sliced it clean in half. However, the drag produced yawed his plane .

"Whoa!" he yelled, slamming right rudder to compensate for the drag.

The F-35 responded far better than he had hoped. The integrated thrust vectoring complied with the rudder, making it twice as effective as previous models. It caused him to careen into a right spin, throwing him to the left in the cockpit. Alarms rang, the helmet felt like it weighed fifty pounds, and he strained to keep his head upright. Through instinct, he hit left rudder and pushed right on the stick. The opposite air currents over the flight surfaces caused him to level out in the spin. His next step was to gently apply left rudder, while holding the stick straight in a death grip. The plane started to slow it's spin, and Allen aileron rolled into level flight.

Panting, he fell limp into the seat.

Good God... stay away from clouds...

-----

Rainbow squinted as her speed reached supersonic levels. She scanned the sky, searching for any sign of the thing that seemingly materialized from nowhere. She knew it was dangerous and she found out the hard way. But sometimes that's the best way to find out... is it not? She looked, headbutting through clouds and tracing the smell it left behind. If anything, her sense of smell could easily follow the smelly trail of air it seemed to leave. What was more bothersome than it's noise was it's sheer size. From the brief encounter over the Academy, she could tell it was at least the size of the Pony Express' engine. Either the ponies back in Cloudsdale are working on some freaky new stuff, or something is very wrong here.

Flapping harder, she broke mach two, following the ever stronger smelling trail into the blue. Then she saw it. Small at first, accompanied by it's trademark roar. She slowed, wondering if it could be talked to. The rushing wind gave way to an unnatural roar as she drew closer...

Warning, unknown contact eight o'clock low.

The warning from Betty quickly brought his focus to attention as a small dot appeared on the radar. He looked outside, straining to look back and as far left as possible. The HMD caught something unseen to him in a small green square, displaying speed, altitude and three hyphens where the IF signature would normally be. The speed is what really caught his eye, fluctuating rapidly from "657", "856", and even rising as high as "1350". The speed was measured in knots, so the object was really going-

Caution, pull up.

Allen's head snapped forward to come face to face with a mountain nearly a mile ahead. His arm snapped back, taking the control stick with it and forcing the F-35E into a very heavy climb.

"C'mon you bastard! Climb!"

The F-35E creaked as the Gs mounted and slowly began gaining altitude. Allen's G suit began squeezing his legs like an Anaconda in order to keep him from blacking out. The mountain began to lower into the control panel as his speed dropped and the wings became more effective. Slamming the throttle forward and lighting the afterburner, he watched through hazy vision as the altimeter in the HMD began sharply rising from "-50" to upwards of "4170". Out of danger, he backed the throttle off and rolled into level flight, looking at the mountain behind him. "Ok," he said through clenched teeth, "where's that plane..."

He began searching the sky again, the HMD failing to find the mystery plane.

"Betty, run a radar scan for proximity. If there's anything within five hundred miles of my nose I wanna know about it. Airports, cities, everything short of the damn International Space Station."

Confirmed X-ray One-One.

The screen lit up with a large circle with a tiny F-35 shape in the middle. Scanning lines protruded from its nose, imitating what was happening. To the south, a large blip next to a small line indicated a landing strip, but the information box beside it was blank. To his right, a much larger cluster of blips appeared indicating a small city or town, but its information box was also blank.

Sir, it appears that the geology in the area is completely different from any known satellite database. I cannot seem to locate any friendly air bases or occupied radio frequency. Allen's face began to turn white as he remembered the 'storm'. It appears that whatever that storm was, it has taken us somewhere... else.

Betty's statement, though artificial, made him slightly more confident now that he had some form of outside communication from his own fried brain. He remembered the small airport that had appeared on the screen, and he slid the F-35E into a comfortable wide two G turn.

-----

Rainbow watched from atop the same mountain the black dot had nearly made it's acquaintance with. The smell was almost overpowering, and a wide path was melted in the snow where it passed. A thin transparent brown line arced through the sky, seemingly coming from the dot. The familiar roar held steadily in volume, then began to grow louder. Her wings flared, seeing it heading back toward her and possibly the Academy. The dot grew... and grew... and she took off.

Alert, AESA tracking faint signature at twelve o'clock low.

Sure enough, a small blip appeared on the radar screen only eight miles ahead.

"Betty, why couldn't the radar detect it sooner? For all I know it could be a MI--"

The dot began moving, and the HMD finally locked a green square around it. Again, the data box displayed altitude and speed, but the IF signature was nothing but hyphens.

"Betty, can you get an ID on that thing?"

There was a short silence as the computer began humming, scanning the object from afar and running the results through every database in the F-35E's arsenal.

Negative. Attempts at establishing radio contact have also failed. However, thermal scan is detecting a very distinct figure. It is not mechanical, however it does posses distinct characteristics of the mythical pegasus. I have gone through all files to confirm this.

Allen laughed inwardly, watching as the distance between himself and the mystery plane lessened. Yeah right, a pegasus? C'mon Betty, I thought they made you "smart"...

At his current speed, he would meet the target in less than twenty seconds.

"Alright Betty, arm and deploy AIM-9s."

He heard a small humming as the weapon bay doors opened, and felt the drag of two missiles hanging from the extended pylons.

AIM-9X Sidewinders armed and deployed

The HMD's targeting system switched on, allowing the AIM-9's seeker head to follow Allen's eye movements. He stared straight at the oncoming threat but the missile couldn't seem to get a proper lock. Looks like I gotta do this old school, he thought, bracing his index finger on the dual Gatling triggers.

Rainbow's ears twitched as the roar became ever louder. She could now make out it's wings and the bright glint of glass from the afternoon sun. The roar was almost deafening now, and both flyers were now on a head-on collision course.

Warning, collision immenen-- All Allen needed was the series of rapid beeps from the helmet to realize the threat. He slammed the stick left, pulling back hard as the dot on the radar expanded; it's close distance compensating for it's small size.

"Whoa!" Rainbow yelled, unable to hear herself over the roar of the turbofan.

She closed her wings from panic, dropping just under and to the right of the strange object's left wingtip as the two met. Time seemed to slow as she looked left, seeing a strange white blur against the charcoal grey. She opened her wings again, pulling up straight into the searing hot air behind the object. engulfing her right flank and leg. She cried out, feeling the fine hairs of her coat curl and watching it darken as she pulled up sloppily. Visible smoke was emitting from her coat and she painfully patted it down from combustion. She didn't have time to think about her injury as the rouge object was now hurtling toward the Academy. With a low grunt of pain and anger, she flapped hard, rocketing after the threat.

"Betty, I need you to find the airbase that appeared earlier," he instructed, his head on a swivel in search for the strange rainbow colored object that nearly kissed his nose.

Again the low humming sound of the computer working filled the cockpit as the AESA searched.

Confirmed location, continue on current vector. Drop altitude to negative two hundred fifty feet. The strip should come within visual range in-- Betty paused, the humming of the computer becoming higher pitched and pulsating-- Warning, aft radar tracking contact nine miles out and closing fast.

Allen's eyes widened for a moment. "Does it have a missile lock?" He asked quickly, straining to took behind him and spot the threat.

Negative. It appears to have no radar signature nor a radar of its own.

Betty's claim startled him for a moment before he finally pulled another hard left turn to get a view. As he did, a tiny black dot was made visible and the HMD zoomed in. What he saw was simple and pixelated: wings, fuselage, and...

"Wha--"

The image focused and revealed a creature unlike any he had ever seen. His eyes widened to the size of golf balls as he stared, unaware of his approaching of the airstrip.

Sir, landing pattern confirmed, shall I--

"Hold it Betty, abort the landing. That thing wants to dance."

But sir, I don't think your fuel is going to be enou--

"You're right, you don't think. That's my job."

He grasped the stick and throttle, pushing the throttle all the way forward and igniting the afterburner.

Rainbow watched as a cone of fire slowly protruded from behind the object, and it seemed to speed up. During her mad dash, she began thinking how to detour that thing from the Academy. It was huge, and fast. She knew from experience that big and fast usually meant very bad crash and very big boom. She had to stop it from reaching the Academy.

Somehow.

She dove deep into thought. Okay, I know that thing is way too big to handle by hoof... She recalled the Sonic Rainboom earlier... That's it! Hope you know how to bob and weave... She flapped harder, ignoring the pain from her wings and flank as she more than tripled her speed. Allen raised an eyebrow as the creature's speed suddenly increased, the small number in the box beside it increasing so fast he couldn't see individual numbers anymore. The speed became hyphens and Allen's eyes flicked back to the object that was now nothing but a wall of color.

"Whoa!"

He slammed the stick right, pulling back and releasing flares out of instinct. Rainbow watched as the little tidbits of light trailed from the object and accelerated further. She had calculated perfectly, the second Rainboom of the day reaching out toward the monstrosity. She hovered, panting and watching the ring of energy as it bore down on her target.

Warning, massive electromagnetic surge detected, evade.

"Evade, no shit!" he yelled, pulling more Gs than ever before trying to get out from the wave's path.

He flipped the switch to enable the scramjet, and after some loud clicking and humming, the F-35 was now a working rocket. This is gonna suck, he thought, remembering the training. The F-35 lurched forward, gaining massive amounts of speed and G force as it rocketed through the sky.

He yelled with all his might, fighting to keep his head upright as the Gs mounted. Stay.. conscious... The G force from accelerating past mach four was almost more than he could bear. Luckily, the energy wave behind him began to slow and all at once dissipated. He puled back the throttle, allowing the engine to cool and revert back to normal operating status.

Warning, fuel level critical. Activating fuel conservation procedures and initiating landing.

He turned his head to see something hovering a few miles back, and the HMD again zoomed in on an angry looking blue pegasus. Hah, suck it. He brought his attention back forward to come eye-level with the plateau, and many surrounding buildings. Betty had already judged the runway too short, and initiated a vertical landing. Allen examined the glass display.

"Crosswind, fifteen knots. Fuel, only a few hundred pounds left. Tower? None. Perfect place for a landing Betty!" He said with bitter sarcasm.

It's either this or a hole in the ground, sir.

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. He knew she was right. "Touche."

Damn, Lockheed really made you more human than I thought, he said inwardly, laughing.

He grasped the stick and throttle, gaining control back from Betty and nervously watching as the fuel gauge decreased ever more toward zero. He backed the throttle a little too fast, making the F-35E begin a fast descent to a painful and more than likely damaging landing. He added power, compensating. The wind outside made the F-35E shake and wobble as it descended, wearing on Allen's nerves even further.

Rainbow watched the object as she neared the plateau and cautiously approached it from the rear. It had changed in appearance looking much less like an arrow, and now like a giant mutated cart. One thing that hadn't changed however was the noise. Her ears flattened as she got closer, ready to make a break if it made any sudden movements. She looked to the office where Soarin was most likely hiding with Spitfire. She had to make it there.

Alert, proximity scan detecting contact of similar dimensions as the one previously encountered. It appears it followed us sir.

"What vector?" He asked quickly.

South of current.

He'd had enough. Almost no fuel, a hostile EMP blasting animal on his six, no radio contact and finally no GPS coordinates. He had to land and find out what the hell was going on but before that, he had to take care of this nuisance on his tail. He punched right rudder making the F-35E spin in a slow circle, his finger poised over the twin M61A4s' triggers. Now facing it, his HMD locked a spinning target indicator around the animal approaching and began beeping rapidly.

Target locked.

Eat this.

His index finger closed around the triggers.

Author's Note:

This chapter has been thoroughly rewritten and lengthened. Any questions about the pilot slang or tech can be asked in the comments (or Google but my explanation will be better) *wink*. Sorry this took so damn long by the way... Special thanks to McSqueakers for editing. ALSO, Expect the next chapter around 6/25/13!

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