I drove tiredly down the street. As I listened to the radio, I thought that the DJ was setting a lot shoegaze recently, though I didn’t really mind. At that moment, “Buerak” was playing, keeping me in a good mood. "Cheaper version of Joy Division”, I thought to myself and smiled. The band was really doing a great job in keeping me upright – it was about 21:30, yet I didn’t crash into anything, despite being tired.
My Lada’s brakes screeched slightly, as I parked it in front of my house. As I turned the ignition off, and got out of the car, I gave it a look. My old Lada 2105 needed some fixes, and a re-painting.
“Don’t worry, pal. Soon I’ll get you some new parts,” I said and patted the driver’s door. After that, I locked the car, and walked towards the front the front door of my house. With a slight move of my wrist, I opened the front door with my keys and entered the house.
“Hi there, Nick!” I heard a shout, coming from the kitchen. Despite being happy, it also sounded a bit tired.
“Hello there, Spitfire. I’ll come back soon, I’ll smoke outside,” I said, leaving my trench coat in a dresser, and picking a pack of “Belomorkanal” cigarettes along with a Zippo-like lighter. After that, I heard a groan. “You know, how do I feel about your smoking habit, and you still do it! Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?”
“I have. But it doesn’t include my bad habits. Have to choose between bad lungs and neurosis. I’ll be outside.” As I walked outside of my house, I sat on the stairs, and lit up a cigarette. As the hot smoke filled my lungs, I looked up and started to stargaze. Inhale after inhale, cigarette after cigarette… It was nice.
Not too long after I’ve sat on the stairs that lead to my house, I heard that the front door has opened. After that, Spitfire sat at my side. She extended her left hand. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“I want to smoke,” she said harshly, and blushed, being embarrassed.
“No probs, mate. Have you smoked before?” I asked her, as she lit up her cigarette. As I saw, how she started to cough, I laughed slightly. “Guess, that’s a no. Don’t inhale with all that you have, that’s some strong stuff.”
Spitfire looked at me and tried again. As she didn’t cough this time, I assumed that she was fine.
“Thanks, I guess… For how long have you been smoking?” she asked, releasing a cloud of smoke from her mouth.
“Since I’d joined the army. Helps to calm down,” I answered and took another cigarette from the pack. “And why did you?..”
“I’m fucking tired. I have a lot of things to worry about these days,” Spitfire said, and brushed her fiery hair with her hand. “Man, smoking feels gross. Still, that gave me a punch.”
“What do you feel?”
“My head is light, and my body feels… Odd,” Spitfire said and released a small laugh.
I looked at her. I could see how her hair and feathers of her wings were moving thanks to the small wind. She wore her Wonderbolts office uniform – blue shirt with short sleeves, trousers and a tie. I assumed that she was too tired or lazy to change the outfit. Her fur was slightly damp, probably because of sweat. Spitfire was always a beautiful pegasus, but right then it felt like she was especially beautiful. I sighed, and continued to smoke.
After finishing another cigarette, I finally got up, and made my way into the house. Spitfire followed me behind. As we got inside, I got rid of my gloves and boots. I tiredly walked to the kitchen, thinking, what I should have for supper.
“Hey, Spits! Want something to eat?”
“No, thanks. I’ve had some a bit earlier. We can have alcohol tonight, though.”
“Vodka sounds good?”
“I’ll just stick to the beer.”
“Suit yourself…”
I got myself a bottle of vodka and a big hunk of roasted meat out from the fridge. Also, a few bottles of beer for Spitfire. As I put the meat into the microwave oven and turned it on, I also took a glass for myself, so I could drink alcohol in doses.
Soon, when the meat was ready, I sat down behind the table, and started to munch it down. Spitfire sat near me, just over a table’s corner. She was sipping on her beer, and looking at me.
“How was the day?” she finally asked me.
“The day was hard, but I am still happy. We’ve finally finished our airplane that I’ve told you about. Next week I’ll be testing it as a test pilot. It looks beautiful. And before the next week, I have a few days off.”
“Huh, good for you. Maybe I should finally give that airplane a look. You know, to see how it will behave itself in flight.”
“You’ll like it, I promise. It’s not supposed to be fast, but it should be easy to control, so it would be good as a trainer. Also, it’s sleek and shiny,” I said with a smile.
“Well, we should drink on that,” Spitfire released a chuckle and lifted her bottle of beer. “Cheers?”
“Cheers,” I said and after a loud clang, dropped my shot of vodka into myself. Pretty soon, I felt how the warm feeling started to flow through my body. I felt myself relaxed. Also, I felt a strong desire to talk. “So, and what about you? How are the Wonderbolts doing?”
“They are doing well, actually. However, that takes a lot of effort. Thank goodness I have Soarin – he helps me a lot,” Spitfire said, and sighed. “We are training to perform at Canterlot. Most of the time I have to deal with documentation, though I really want to fly with my squadmates.”
“Sometimes you just have to deal with stuff like that. You know, despite being a tank driver, I also was a battalion’s “office worker”. You know, documentation, newspapers, battle instructions, that kind of stuff. I had to wake up at 4:30 and go to bed at 23:30. Or even work without sleep sometimes.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know… I am just frustrated. It just ruins my moral state.”
“I think that you’ll get over it eventually.”
I poured some vodka into my glass and lifted it up. “For brighter future?”
“Definitely,” Spitfire chuckled, and finished her first bottle of beer. As I drank down my shot of vodka, I also finished my meal, and got up to bring my plate and silverware to the sink. After that, I returned and sat back onto my chair.
I saw how Spitfire was looking straight at me. That slightly confused me. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked her.
“Looks like that you’ve lost some weight. Were you training?”
“No. I guess that’s because of work. Moving heavy stuff… And… Other things… I think. Definitely because of work.”
Spitfire giggled. “Maybe you’ll have neat bicepses soon, like mine. Wonder what they will look like!”
“No, I don’t think so. My work is not that hard, it’s just monotonous. And also, I am usually too tired to attend to the gym.”
“Whatever… You must be embarrassed – your own co-liver, who is also a mare, is more muscular than you are!” Spitfire laughed. I chuckled after her.
“Yeah, maybe I am a little embarrassed… But still, I also don’t have neat wings. Or tail. Or pointy ears. I am a simple man, who works on a simple job, and has a crazy anthropomorphic pegasus as a friend,” I said with a laugh.
“Hey, I am not crazy! Maybe I shout at my cadets, but I am not crazy!”
Spitfire laughed, too.
“Yeah, whatever. You are definitely crazy, if you’ve befriended such a boring creature as myself.”
“Well, you are not boring, in my opinion,” Spitfire smiled and brushed her hair. “You build such machines that allow you to do things that ponies have acquired using magical abilities. That’s what makes you special.”
Spitfire opened another bottle of beer, and lifted it up. “For our equality?”
“For our equality,” I replied after pouring some vodka into my glass again. As we clang, and I had my shot, I felt myself very comfortable. Maybe even too comfortable…
“Hey, Spits. You actually gave me a thought.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. You’ve said that I’m special because I build machines and stuff, yabby-yaddy-yada. But what can you say about other humans? For example, my brother Max.”
“Oh, it was your brother? Didn’t know that,” Spitfire said and hummed, thinking. “Guess that right now my statement sounds a bit racist. Though, I just meant that the humanity in general has achieved a lot of things that us ponies couldn’t.”
“That didn’t really answer my question, but still, thanks for the explanation,” I replied and sighed. “Still, what do you think about him?”
“Well, he seems… Major to me. He wears stylish clothes, has an expensive phone, and a haircut that I don’t understand,” Spitfire laughed.
“Yeah… Too bad that he doesn’t come to visit very often. It looks like he doesn’t have any interest in me anymore. But eh, can’t blame him – he has money and status, he can afford himself this attitude, even if I don’t like it,” I chuckled.
“And looks like that woman, Kate, that came here with him is your relative, too?”
“Yup. My mom, to be exact,” I replied and smiled.
“Could’ve assumed that. She was really nice. And that apple pie, that she brought… Was it homemade?”
“Sure it was. Did you like it?”
“Yeah. I even took a piece to the base from home, but, when I gave Soarin a try, he munched it down in a second!”
Spitfire bursted in laughter, and I followed behind.
“Woah, Spits, that was a dumb idea,” I said after laughing, and poured another shot of vodka into my glass. “Let’s drink to my mom’s apple pies, then!”
After a loud clang, I downed my shot, and closed my eyes for a second. And, when I opened them again, I understood that I had enough alcohol for tonight – my sight began to blur slightly, and I began to see, how the “helicopter effect” was coming. So, I stood up, not without effort put the remaining vodka into the fridge, and my glass to the sink, and walked to the front room. I felt the strong desire to smoke again. So, I picked up my pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and walked outside. Spitfire followed me behind. I sat on the stairs that lead to the front door of my house, and lit up a cigarette.
“Want some?” I asked Spitfire, when she made herself comfortable. She gave me a long look.
“I’ll pass. Thanks for the offer.”
“Suit yourself, then…”
So, both of us were sitting on the stairs and stargazing. Many constellations were forming interesting figures up in the sky, and that looked absolutely beautiful. My thoughts were going slow.
“Huh. It’s quite strange, isn’t it?”
Spitfire suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked back.
“Well, how our worlds met… And how we met,” Spitfire said with a hum. “You know, it’s actually quite strange that we didn’t talk about this before.”
“True. To be honest, I was scared at first. Scared and jealous, that’s more correct. Hell, when I’ve first saw you, I was scared,” I laughed. “Meeting a creature, that’s superior at almost all aspects – that was an experience, that’s for sure. And then the news came, that our technologies are superior to yours, which compensates the lack of magic. That was a relief. And after that, we’ve found out that ponies are peaceful, with their own set of goals, such as friendship, stable job and other bullshit like that. Well, that’s not bullshit, but… Eh… Well, you’ve got the idea.”
“You know, I was scared, too. Not “run-for-your-lives” kind of scared… Concerned, maybe. But still, I was nervous, too. I was nervous because of the possible conflict, which would mean that I needed to throw my Wonderbolts into the maw of the danger,” Spitfire said. Her voice was serious.
“Well, at least our nations have managed to befriend each other,” I replied and released a big cloud of smoke from my mouth.
“Yeah, that’s true… Hey, remember, how we’ve first met?” Spitfire asked. Now her tone was cheerful.
“Uh-huh. I’ve piloted the plane around Cloudsdale, and you’ve forced me to land on the street just because you were curious,” I chuckled. Spitfire blushed in embarrassment.
“That’s not true! You’d entered the city’s airspace, it was my duty!”
“Yeah, and saying that it looked like a giant dragonfly also was your duty?”
“But it did look like a giant dragonfly!” Spitfire laughed. I chuckled after her.
“Yeah, maybe… And just six months after it, I moved here. And learned that you needed a temporary place to stay. That’s how it looks like for me,” I released a pleased sigh.
“Uh-huh, that’s true. However, now I am considering to stay for a little bit longer.”
“Why so?” I asked, being surprised.
“Well, mainly because of you. I mean, I don’t have many friends with who I can just talk, eat, drink or smoke casually. There’s Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, Cloudchaser, and, um… Well, you. What about other ponies, there’s a reason why I shout at them and why they must show some respect to me. It’s a big responsibility to be a commander, and I use any available moment of my life to pretend like I am a normal mare. I have my own needs, you know?” Spitfire answered. Her voice sounded even more tired than it was before. I looked at her. She laid her head on her palms, supporting it with her hands.
“Well, I was just curious. Of course you can stay, if you want. I enjoy your company, too.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“No probs, mate.”
For some time we were sitting in silence.
“You know, even with your temperament, I don’t actually understand how you are still single,” I said with a thoughtful hum. Spitfire turned her head to face me, and smirked.
“If that was a proposal, then you do a bad job to seduce me,” she said with a laugh, and finished her last bottle of beer.
“No, I am actually serious. I’ve talked to lots of ponies and men, and everyone agrees that your attitude is very attracting. Or, they just like you in a flight suit!” I laughed loudly. Spitfire followed behind.
“Gross,” she said with a chuckle and got up. “Alright, I think that’s enough of fresh air we got here. Let’s head back.”
“Sure thing,” I responded. I put out the cigarette, and got up. As I gave the street my last look, I sighed. After that I got inside my house and locked the door. I felt myself good – I was slightly drunk and tired, and a warm bed was waiting for me. So, without much hesitation I wished Spitfire a good night and walked up to my room to sleep.
I walked down the street, listening to the music that was playing in my headphones. The sunset was coloring the city of Canterlot in golden tones, creating a nice ambient. I was looking for a certain bar that should be somewhere nearby. As I couldn’t locate it by myself, I walked to the unicorn that was standing nearby and smoking.
“Excuse me, sir,” I said as I got closer, getting his attention, “I am looking for a bar that should be nearby, but I can’t find it. Could you help me, please?”
He glanced at me from behind his sunglasses. “You’re not local, eh? I’ll head to the bar soon, too. We can walk along, if you want,” he said.
“Sure. I’ll smoke too, if we’ve got some time before setting off.”
I fished a pack of “Belomorkanal” cigarettes from a pocket of my trench coat along with a lighter. As I smoked, I looked at the unicorn that stood near me. He was tall and slender, wore an expensive-looking jacket and trousers, and had shiny shoes. Not that did I care much about his look, but he definitely had a sense of taste.
“What a strange cigarettes do you have,” he suddenly said. “Care to share?”
“Sure thing. “Belomorkanal”,” I replied, and took another cigarette from the pack. The unicorn picked it up with his grey magic aura, and, as he finished his own cigarette, lit it up. The air immediately filled with coughs from his side and with chuckles from mine. “Carefully, that’s some strong stuff.”
“I *cough-cough* have figured that… Strong stuff… What the Tartarus is this?”
“Just tobacco. Not used to this kind of cigarettes?”
“I’ll just stick to my pack, I guess,” he said with a small chuckle. “Anyway, let’s go to the bar. It’s actually nearby.”
So, we set off quickly and walked down the street. I noticed how the unicorn was giving me quick glances from time to time.
“So, looks like you’re a human?” he finally asked. “Never met one before, though I’ve seen a lot of your kind while watching the TV.”
“You are correct. Though, I’ve moved here not too long ago. Didn’t have enough time to learn the city plan,” I answered with a shrug.
“Well, I can see that. Not just because you don’t know the city plan. Most of citizens here wear more fancy clothes. No offence.”
I looked over myself. I wore an old black trench coat, a pair of old black jeans, and heavy military boots.
“I think I’ll just stick to my clothes. They’re old, but reliable. Besides, if I’ll wear something like a tuxedo during my work, it will be ruined pretty quickly.”
“And what do you do for a living?”
“Building and testing airplanes. I’m an engineer and a test pilot of a small design bureau.”
“That’s good. My elder brother Screwdriver is an engineer, too. Though, his work is a bit more… Sterilized, so to say,” the unicorn said and stopped in front of some building. “Well, we are here.”
“Thanks for the help, mate. Maybe we will meet again,” I gave him a handshake as we entered the building. As we parted and he walked somewhere else, I scanned the bar for the mare that I needed. Pretty soon I’ve found her sitting behind the table along with few other pegasi. All of them wore bomber jackets with Wonderbolts insignias. So, I came closer to the table.
“Hello there, Spitfire. Sorry I’m a bit late – I got lost while trying to find the place,” I said, taking the headphones from my ears. Spitfire just smiled.
“No problems. You didn’t miss much,” she got up to give me a handshake. “So, meet my squadmates – Soarin, Fleetfoot, Cloudchaser and Rainbow Dash. I’ve told you about them.”
“Pleased to meet you all. Name’s Nick,” I exchanged handshakes with everyone and sat down. “I’ve heard a lot about you all. Never knew that someday I’d find myself in such a company.”
“Yeah, we’re quite awesome,” Rainbow Dash said proudly. “But still, if you’ve managed to befriend Spitfire that certainly means that she’s found something in you, too.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. Never thought about that, actually,” I chuckled and gave a sign for a waiter. As he came closer, I ordered myself some whiskey.
“So, let’s work on knowing you better, then,” Soarin said and sipped from his glass of beer. “What do you do for a living?”
“Constructing and testing airplanes. I am an engineer and a test pilot of a small design bureau. You know, one pony actually asked me about this today,” I answered. After that, the waiter brought me my whiskey and I thanked him.
“Airplanes are quite cool. Not as cool as having wings, but still,” Fleetfoot giggled.
“Well, I have no wings. Building aircraft fulfills my desire to fly just fine. Though, I’ve always wanted to join our Aerospace Military, but instead I had to join the land-based army.”
“You’ve been in the army? What did you do there?” Cloudchaser asked curiously.
“I’ve been a tank driver. T-80U is quite a powerful machine, if you ask me.”
“Oh, now I get it. The tank is a machine that has big cannon on a spinning turret?” Rainbow Dash hummed in thought. “I’ve seen a few photographs of your military vehicles. Land-based machinery looks too big and heavy, if you ask me. And speaking of aerospace, I really liked your army’s jetfighters.”
“Yeah, they are pretty awesome. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot of an interceptor jetfighter – they fly higher and faster than anything else,” I agreed. “However, thanks to my health state, I had to join the ground forces.”
“And what about your design bureau? Don’t you build such machines as these jetfighters?” Soarin asked.
“No. Such machines are very complex and expensive. Besides, I think that I don’t have enough engineering experience to even make a blueprint,” I sighed and took a gulp from my glass of whiskey. As I did so, I also took a cigarette from my pack. “Can I smoke?” I asked everyone.
“Leave one for me, pal,” Spitfire raised her hand, so I gave her a cigarette, too. As I lit it up with a lighter, and she started to smoke, everyone looked at her with confusion.
“Um, Spitfire… When did you learn to smoke?” Soarin asked, scratching his chin.
“A few weeks back. I was tired as Tartarus, so I asked him to leave a couple of cigarettes to me. Plus one to bad habits,” Spitfire answered, pointing at me. I just shrugged.
“She’s a grown up woman, she can make her own bad decisions.”
“If you say so… But anyway, back to business,” Soarin blurted out. “What kind of airplanes do you build at your design bureau?”
“Mostly civilian machines, but also trainers and stunt planes. I’ve even learned a few elements of top pilotage, though my health won’t let me to perform at professional level,” I smiled.
“That’s a shame… Being dragged backwards by your own body sucks,” Cloudchaser agreed, but then smiled cheerfully. “But still, being able to fly like that is still quite awesome! Me and Fleetfoot have always wanted to find a flying buddy who would train with us in group pilotage.”
“Why so? You don’t like our company?” Rainbow Dash released a loud laugh.
“No, of course not! It’s just… Well, being a Wonderbolt means that we must perform at our maximum all the time. But, when not performing or training, I want to fly in group with someone, who just enjoys the flight. We with Fleetfoot form a nice pair, but I’ve always wanted a third to join.”
“Well, I’m at your service. I can give you an address and a schedule of our test flights. I think that our boys from the control tower won’t mind much,” I replied and took a sip from my glass.
“You’ve said that you can perform some stunts. What can you do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Standard kit – barrel rolls, low passes, loops, knife flight… Maybe even something that includes big centrifugal forces. Not for a long time, however – blood vessels on my legs are bad. If something goes wrong, I can be left without pedal control.”
“Still, that “standard kit” is something that not anypony can perform. And I guess, that not any pilot, too,” Soarin said with a cheerful smile. “We should drink on that, I think. For our flying skills?”
“For our flying skills,” everyone replied, including me. Though I wasn’t sure about my piloting skill, I decided that I should pass on that. So, our glasses clanged, and I finished my portion of whiskey. After I ordered another glass of it, we continued our talk.
“Well, thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate that. But still, I think that I’m more into flying at high speeds than performing stunts. That’s a main reason why I’ve wanted to be an interceptor and not to join the tactical aviation,” I said and released a cloud of smoke thanks to the cigarette.
“And what about tactical aviation? They have pretty fast airplanes, too,” Spitfire shrugged.
“Yeah, they do. But interceptor aircraft are much faster. Our MiG-31’s can reach the altitude of more than twenty kilometers, and a speed of more than 3200 kilometers per hour.”
“These are the characteristics to talk about,” Fleetfoot said, being stunned by my words. “I don’t think that any magical creature can achieve that!”
“Well, I can fly at speed of sound, and I am quite maneuverable at the same time,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. It seemed like she wanted to show that the characteristics of our airplanes weren’t as admirable as I tried to show. So, I flashed my “ace of spades”.
“You know, our jetfighters from tactical aviation are as maneuverable, as you are. And at the same time, they can reach Mach 2.5. If you don’t believe me, you can look up the characteristics of Su-27, MiG-29 or T-50 in the Internet,” I replied, and grinned mischievously. Rainbow Dash’s eyes became wide as saucers.
“And he’s not joking. I’ve looked it up not too long ago,” Spitfire said, surprising me. As I looked at her in confusion, she just gave me a wink.
“Well… I am still the fastest pony in the world,” Rainbow Dash replied. However, her voice became quieter.
“Don’t worry about that too much. You are still the fastest one around here. What we’d achieved via the technology and hard work, you do just naturally, because you can,” I tried to cheer her up. As she smiled back, I assumed that it worked.
As I gave myself a little break, all Wonderbolts started to talk with each other. I took a big gulp from my glass, and walked outside to breathe some fresh air. As the door closed behind me, I took a cigarette from the pack and lit it up. As I smoked, I saw how different creatures were passing by the street – griffons, changelings, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns… It looked nice. However, my streetgazing was cancelled by the tap on my shoulder. As I turned around, I saw the same unicorn that helped me to get to the bar.
“Well, hello there, nice sir,” he said with a smile. We shook our hands, and after that, he lit up his own cigarette. “Breathing the fresh air, eh?”
“Uh-huh, something like that. You?”
“Same thing. Having a nice time?”
“Definitely.”
We stood for a couple of minutes in silence. I watched how the flow of Canterlot residents moved. Some of them were in a hurry, some were moving slowly, enjoying a good evening. There were a lot of lovely pairs…
“Huh, that’s funny. We didn’t even present ourselves to each other,” the unicorn said with a chuckle and extended his hand. “White Light, pleased to meet you.”
“Nick. Same here, pleased to meet you,” I gave him a handshake. “Yeah, that was an awkward situation, isn’t it?”
“Sure. But now everything’s on its right place,” he released a laugh. “Do you plan on returning here anytime soon? Maybe we can have a beer or two together.”
“Maybe. Quite a nice place with nice ponies to talk with.”
“If that’s not a secret, who did you meet here?” White Light asked curiously.
“Maybe you know the Wonderbolts crew. To be more precise, Spitfire and her squadmates.”
“Woah, really? Wonder, why I didn’t notice her,” the unicorn replied, being surprised.
“I don’t know. Maybe she can blend into the crowd!” I released a loud laugh.
“You must be lucky, if she considers you as a friend. I’ve heard that she has an explosive temperament.”
“She has. But sometimes she can have some time for herself, I think. She’s like everyone else.”
“No, she’s not. First of all, she’s a celebrity. And secondary, many colts have been trying to hit on her, and everyone has failed. Many of them should be jealous on you right now!” White Light laughed.
“No, thanks. I’m already married on aeronautica,” I chuckled back.
“Really? You’re that close to her and you don’t even think about making a relationship with her?”
“Yeah… I’m not too good with ladies.”
“Huh, that’s sad. But, I really hope that someday you’ll meet someone, who’ll love you back as you will do.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. We really should meet each other here more often.”
“Definitely. Care to share the address and a phone number?” White Light asked. After that, we’ve exchanged with our contacts.
“Well, I must go, right now,” finally, the unicorn said, and put on his sunglasses. “Goodbye!”
“Goodbye, pal,” I said back, as he set off somewhere away from the bar. After that, I’ve returned back int the building, to continue the talk with the awaiting company.
“Fox Two, this is Eagle One, do you hear me?” I heard a voice in my headset, as I connected it to the radio transmitter of my airplane.
“Eagle one, this is Fox Two, I hear you loud and clear.”
“Fox Two, you’re clear for sequence start. Power?”
“Power is on, the panel is online.”
“Ignition?”
“Ignition primers are good, green lights are out.”
“Chassis?”
“Green lights are out.”
“Check the control surfaces.”
As I moved the flight control stick and pedals, I looked out from the canopy of my cabin. As I checked that everything moved just fine, I replied to the flight control tower, “Control surfaces are good, everything moves just fine.”
“Alright, that’s good. You’re clear for engine start.”
As I checked the readings of the control panel, I pushed the starter button. After a few coughs, the engine started, and a loud roar filled the cabin of my airplane. As the water and engine temperatures stabilized, I slightly pushed the engine control rod, and rolled out from the hangar.
As I rolled out to the bright sunlight, I was immediately blinded by it. So, I stopped, and put on my aviator sunglasses before looking around. The airfield, where our design bureau was based, looked quite nice – wide concrete runway was surrounded by short, yet very colorful grass and huge mountains. On the farther end of the runway was an exit to the abyss, which leaded from the Canterlot mountains to the ravine, where the town of Ponyville stood. So, while I maneuvered my plane through the narrow steering roads of the airfield, I noticed a group of pegasi that stood at the beginning of the runway.
“Eagle One, this is Fox Two. Moving to the beginning of the runway, all characteristics are good.”
“Roger that, Fox Two. The Wonderbolts group is waiting for you, you’re clear for group flight,” the man from the control tower responded, “They all have their headsets already. Second channel, frequency 9221.”
“Roger that, Eagle One. Switching to the group chatter,” I said and switched my radio to get in contact with the Wondrbolts. “Spitfire, this is Fox Two, do you read me?”
“Loud and clear, Fox Two. Hello there, Nick,” I heard a cheerful voice in my headset, as I rolled out to the runway. As I hit the brakes of my airplane, I looked around to see that the group of Wonderbolts was approaching me. There were Spitfire, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser.
“Hello there, everyone. Nice flightsuits you’ve got there,” I said with a smile, as everyone stood at their positions around the plane. Soarin and Rainbow Dash placed themselves at my sides, with Fleetfoot, Spitfire and Cloudchaser following behind us.
“Well thank you!” Fleetfoot replied via her headset. “We’ve got a new set of suits recently. They have built-in batteries for our headsets.”
“Good for you, then. Spitfire, it’s a great honor for me to be a group leader today. I won’t let you down.”
“That’s the spirit, Nick! You remember the flight program?” Spitfire responded, while taking a starting stance.
“Sure I do. Everyone ready?”
“Spitfire – good.”
“Rainbow Dash – ready to rock!”
“Soarin – ready!”
“Cloudchaser – good!”
“Fleetfoot – ready.”
“Fox Two – ready. Alright,” I exhaled loudly, and switched the channel to contact the control tower. “Eagle One, this is Fox Two, we’re ready for takeoff.”
“Fox Two, you’re clear for takeoff. Good luck there,” the man from the tower responded. After that, I held onto the brakes of my airplane, and revved up the engine to its maximum. As I did so, I closed the canopy of my cabin, and looked around. I saw how everyone took their starting stances. So, I switched the radio back to the group, and commanded:
“This is Fox Two, we’re clear for takeoff. Starting the sequence.”
After that, I released the brakes, and my plane began to roll down the runway, gaining more and more speed. At first, the Wonderbolts were running after me, but at some point, they took off, and passed above the hot concrete of the runway at low altitude.
“Speed – one hundred, continuing the sequence. Releasing the flaps, green lights are out,” I said, and lowered the lever, that controlled the flaps. With a loud zooming sound, the flaps lowered, and I felt how the vibration from the wheels of the plane began to fade away.
“Speed – one fifty, taking off,” I transmitted and pulled the control stick towards myself. In one swift move, the nose of my plane lifted up, and in a few seconds, I became airborne. As I looked at my sides, I saw that the Wonderbolts were following my moves neatly.
“Spitfire to Fox Two, we’re all airborne,” Spitfire chatted back.
“Roger that. Retracting the landing gear.”
I lifted up the lever, that controlled the landing gear. As I heard a loud sound, which came from my plane’s wings, I assumed that the gear has been fixed.
“Spitfire to Fox Two, landing gear is up.”
“Confirmed, red lights are out. Gaining altitude, speed – two twenty, continuing the acceleration.”
As the airplane was continuing the acceleration, I started to level it out. The airfield was placed in a middle of Canterlot Mountains, at height of about two thousand meters above the sea level, so our group shot out from the mountains at almost perfectly levelled straight line. I saw a beautiful sight around me – a deep green ravine under the wings, a perfectly clear and blue sky above my machine, and a mountain pass behind us in a rearview mirror.
“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – course six-zero-two, continue the acceleration. Retracting the flaps.”
As I retracted the flaps, I saw how the speed began to increase more rapidly. I slightly lifted the nose of my machine, so it would still go at the straight line and not lose altitude due to the reduced lifting force. As we exceeded the speed of three hundred kilometers per hour, I levelled out the plane again, and made a turn to follow the mountain chain and to go towards the city of Canterlot. We were waited guests there – Spitfire has invited me to perform with her Wonderbolts at the opening of a new sports centre that was placed not too far from the Canterlot University. However, as it was placed on the on the other side of the mountain chain, we had to fly around them.
“Spitfire to Fox Two, looking good so far at this point,” Spitfire chatted, “Time’s one-three-one-two, we should be right on time.”
“Speed’s three thirty. All systems are good, keeping the rod at its maximum,” I replied back. As the engine roared, I felt how the air in the cockpit was cracking around me. As I looked around, I saw the trails of smoke and lightning after Rainbow Dash and Soarin.
“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – the smoke is out, keep it that way. We’re reaching the city, play it cool,” I chatted, as we were about a couple of kilometers from the city. We were keeping the altitude of about five hundred meters above its roofs. After we’ve crossed the city’s border, I engaged the nitrous oxide system. “Nitrous oxide is online, reaching the maximum velocity.”
As I engaged the system, I received a powerful punch to my back. I saw how the small flames that were firing from the engine’s exhaust pipes became to grow larger and larger. The plane was reaching its top speed of four hundred and twenty kilometers per hour. The buildings below us were passing by rapidly, blurring. After a few minutes of going above the city of Canterlot, I saw the building that we needed and large crowds near it.
“Fox Two to all Wonderbolts – having visual on our target, twenty seconds before approach.”
“Spitfire – go!”
“Rainbow Dash – go!”
“Soarin – go!”
“Cloudchaser – go!”
“Fleetfoot – go!”
“Fox Two – go, ten seconds before approach. Let’s rock!” I exclaimed enthusiastically. “Loop in six, five, four, three, two, one. Ascent.”
As I pulled a flight control stick, I could see a big crowd below us for a second. However, I regained my concentration quickly, as I slightly eased my grip on the stick, so the loop would be wide enough to show off. As I saw a blue sky in front of me, I also noticed how my plane lost its speed, and a few seconds after it, I saw how the sky has been replaced by the ground. I pulled the flight control stick even more, so the loop wouldn’t be too dangerous for us and spectators.
“Fleetfoot to Fox Two, you have some trails coming from your wingtips,” Fleetfoot informed me via the communicator.
“That’s normal, play it cool. Okay, Wonderbolts, prepare for the power descend.”
As I said that, I started to level out the plane. We quickly exceeded the speed of four hundred kilometers per hour, and thundered over the crowd just a couple hundred meters above.
“Beginning the group barrel roll… Now!” I commanded and moved the stick to the plane’s right slightly. As the plane started to roll over, the Wonderbolts followed behind, still making a perfect formation. As we did a barrel roll and a half, I pulled the stick as hard as I could to make another run over the crowd. I felt how the blood was flowing away from my head, and how my consciousness was slipping away from me. However, as we finished the maneuver, I felt myself better.
“Fox Two, everything’s fine?” Cloudchaser entered the chatter. Her voice sounded worried.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Concentrate,” I replied back. “Candle with a divide… Now.”
As I pulled the flight control stick and started to ascend again, I gave a quick glance around me. Rainbow Dash and Soarin were nearly touching my wingtips, while Spitfire, Cloudchaser and Fleetfoot were doing the same to my tailfin. That was creating a lot of turbulence, but I held on the control stick tightly. As the speed of my plane started to reduce, I released the flaps and pushed the stick to the left, so it would spin and lose the speed even faster. I felt how the strong vibration hit the plane for a second, which alarmed me that I’d engaged the flaps too early. However, the Wonderbolts followed my moves neatly.
“Five seconds before the divide. Three… Two… One… Go,” I commanded, as the speed of my plane fell below fifty kilometers per hour. I immediately retracted the engine control rod and pressed the right pedal. The plane rolled over mid-air, and with a slight slide, began to descend. As Rainbow Dash and Soarin followed after me, Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser continued their ascent. More than that, they began to speed up and rolled over to fly above the crowd as fast, as they could.
When the part of Wonderbolts was flying at high altitude above the place, our group of three was descending. As we reached the altitude of eight hundred meters above the place, I pushed the engine control rod to its maximum again. As the engine roared, I began to level out the plane. The G-force was big, and it was quite hard for me to remain conscious.
“Meeting in five, four, three, two, one!” I heard a Spitfire’s voice in my headset. Before that, I saw her, Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser on the intercepting course. Moments after that, their trio flew above us just a few meters higher. It created so much turbulence that my plane even dove a hundred meters down. However, I managed to catch and hold it with my hands via the flight control stick.
“Good job, everyone. We’ve finished our little flight program, let’s head back home,” I said, and disengaged the nitrous oxide system. After that, I also slightly pulled the engine control rod to reduce the amount of power that the motor’s been giving. As the speed fell down to two hundred kilometers per hour, I brushed away the sweat that I had on my forehead. I looked around and saw that nor did Soarin or Rainbow Dash have the smoky trails after them anymore.
“Nice job done there, Fox Two. Not perfect, but still, quite admirable for a beginner,” I heard Soarin’s voice in my headset. “Feeling good?”
“Yeah, I’m alright… Though, I’m tired as hell. Today’s drinks are on me!”
As we flew back to the airfield, I saw the beautiful sight again. It was about two o’clock, and the sunrays were showing the beautiful sides of Equestrian land to us. I tiredly checked the fuel level, and sighed – I had less than a half of the fuel tank left, so I was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t fly for a little longer. Pretty soon, I saw the divide in the mountains that lead to our runway, so I switched the radio to contact the control tower.
“Fox Two to Eagle One – we’re back home. Requiring the clearance for landing.”
“Runway is clear, Fox Two. You are clear for landing.”
As we approached the runway, I extended the landing gear and the flaps. Soon enough, as I approached the glissade, the wheels of my landing gear touched the ground. After I reduced my speed, I rolled to the hangar with Rainbow Dash and Soarin following behind, from where I’d started the journey and parked the plane there. As I turned all the systems off and opened the canopy, I leaned back into the seat, being exhausted. But, as I disconnected my headset from the plane’s radio and closed my eyes, some force has got me free from my safety belts, and lifted me up before I could do something.
“Hey, what the…” I only managed to say, before the world around me became a blur. However, pretty soon I’ve managed to look around, and as I did so, I saw that the whole Wonderbolts squad was holding me with their hands. After that, they began to throw me into the air.
“Gah! Wh-why?! S-stop!” I tried to say something between laughs. And they just kept to throw me into the air, saying something about being good at this small perfomance. And, when everyone’d calmed down, we headed to the bar. It was a nice day, so to speak…
Cold wind. It boosted up my nerves, as we with Spitfire walked down the night street. However, as she felt herself more or less comfortable, I tried to bury myself in a trench coat. I had my hat down on my ears, and I wore leather gloves.
“November has come,” I said, while trying to light up a cigarette with my shaking hands. As I did so, the hot smoke filled my lungs, slightly warming me up.
“Definitely. I think it was a bad idea to walk – you should’ve taken your car,” Spitfire agreed.
“My pal is standing in a garage, waiting for an overhaul. It’s good that I’m free the next few days – I’ll have enough time to fix everything in it.”
“It looks like it’s pretty old. I saw some rust on its body.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty old. They don’t produce Lada 2105 anymore. But, I know where to get any spare parts and upgrades that I need.”
“Good for you. Too bad that you can’t drive it right now – my ears are starting to freeze,” Spitfire complained, and looked at me. After that, she giggled. “Looks like I’m not the only one here, who’s freezing!”
“Enough of that bullshit. I just want to get drunk and pass out,” I said harshly. After that, we walked in silence for some time.
The streetlights were creating a nice ambient. Shadowed buildings were passing by slowly before my eyes, and as we slowly were going from another spot of light to another, everything seemed peaceful. Until I saw some movement in the shadows in front of us, at least. I started to move my head rapidly, looking for someone who could be near us. Spitfire chuckled on that.
“What are you looking for?” she asked me playfully. “Scared of the dark?”
“No. I think I just saw some movement,” I replied, while looking around. “Maybe it’s just my reflexes.”
However, as we continued our walk, I saw even more movement around us in the shadows. I tensed up a bit, but I decided not to show it to Spitfire, and continued to talk to her.
“Anyways… How are the Wonderbolts? I’ve heard that Fleetfoot and Cloudchaser were having an autograph session recently.”
“Yeah, they had. They were performing at some community events in Manehatten, and they were quite busy. And what about your construction bureau?”
“Everything’s fine, though we don’t fly as much as we did at summer. The main problem there is the grease – as it cools down, it becomes less liquid. Sometimes it freezes, and we need to wait until it warms up to start the engine. We need to order special types of oil and fuel before the winter starts…” I replied with a hum of thought. However, I didn’t finish my sentence, as I noticed that some ponies were looking at us. One unicorn, one pegasus and one earth pony stood nearby, leaned to the building’s wall. As we walked past them, the earth pony asked me:
“Hey, pal! Care to share a cigarette?”
I tensed up, but decided to share. So, I took a cigarette from the pack, and we with Spitfire walked to them. As I gave the cigarette to him, he took it and smirked.
“A human? And he’s along with such a nice mare, as Spitfire herself? How ridiculous.”
“Have a nice evening, sir,” I responded harshly, and tried to walk away. However, as I turned around, I saw that another trio of ponies, which consisted of two earth ponies and one unicorn, was approaching our pair. “Well shit,” I said, gritting my teeth.
“Look there, human,” the unicorn from another group said, as he approached me and Spitfire, “Seems like you’ve found yourself in a wrong neighborhood. Care to share some money?”
“Hey, if you don’t back off, I’ll break you in half,” Spitfire alerted everyone, and curled her fists.
“No need to, Spitfire. I can do this all by myself,” I responded. After that, she looked at me. Her face was showing that she wasn’t sure about my words. Also, that encouraged the thugs.
“And what will you do? Cry and run to your mom’s home, monkey?” the unicorn smirked, and grabbed my trench coat with his fists. Meanwhile, other thugs were forming a circle around us. However, he stopped, as he felt that something was poking into his belly.
“If you won’t get your damned hands off me, you’ll have a few nice holes in your body,” I said with a grin. The unicorn released me, and slowly backed off. Spitfire looked at me, being surprised.
“What did you do?” she asked. I only grinned even wider, unbuttoning my trench coat, and revealing a Vz.61 “Skorpion” automatic pistol, that hung on a strap, which was hidden under the trench coat.
“That, my dear, is an automatic pistol. It shoots bullets with force so much that it can kill. Now, dear sirs, back off and no one will get hurt.”
However, the “dear sirs” didn’t listen to my advice. As I heard a whistling sound behind myself, I immediately fell on the ground. A big fist of a buff earth pony has moved through the air, not hurting me. I quickly rolled over on my back, and shot him in the gut. He quickly fell on the ground, holding to his new wound, and screaming curses. I jumped back on my feet, and saw how another pony was approaching me quickly. But I was faster – I aimed the gun at him and shot him into the leg. He quickly fell on the ground near his partner. As I quickly looked around, I saw how Spitfire became airborne and bombarded one unicorn with her fists, while he was blocking her with his magic. I quickly aimed at him, but I didn’t have enough time to shoot, as something hit me in the back. With a loud gasp I fell on the ground and released the pistol from my hands. However, I didn’t lose it, as it was strapped to me neatly. As I turned around, I saw how some pegasus was speeding up while being airborne, to give me another powerful punch. I tried to lift up my pistol, but I didn’t have enough time. So I prepared myself for a hit… But it didn’t happen, as the pegasus was punched by Spitfire, who’d already dealt with the unicorn. So, I sprang back on my feet, and saw that one unicorn and one earth pony were left.
“One-on-one fight! No weapons!” the earth pony shouted at me. “Or you’re just scared to face us?”
“Let me think… Fuck, I don’t care,” I replied, and aimed the gun at him. After that, I shot him in the leg. As I did so, Spitfire attacked the unicorn, and knocked him out with a powerful punch of her own. As she did so, she looked over the battlefield victoriously. All of thugs were down.
“Well, that was something! Though, we should call the police so they would collect these poor bastards,” she said, and looked at me. I was still holding my pistol. “And hide that thing! I know that we don’t have laws for the use of firearms, but you can get in trouble if they see that thing with you.”
“That was self-protection,” I replied back, while taking a mobile phone from one of the pockets. “They wouldn’t let me to live in Equestria or even buy a gun if I wouldn’t know stuff like that. Back home, our laws are stricter…”
As I called the police and explained the situation, I hid the gun back under the trench coat, and got to one of the thugs. He was holding to his guts, trying to not to reveal his wound.
“You will be fine, pal. Just wait until the police comes,” I said with a smirk, and faced Spitfire. “Nice job done there, by the way. You gave a few powerful punches out there, I don’t know if I could ever knock someone out with one hit.”
“Well duh, I’m a Wonderbolts captain, I must be the best at everything,” she shrugged. “You shot them good, too. Where did you learn to be a sharpshooter?”
“Army. We’ve learned how to use firearms and how to protect ourselves,” I smiled back. After that, I’ve heard a siren of a police van, which was coming closer. “And here’s the police. Let’s meet them.”
So, me and Spitfire stood on the middle of the road, and waved our hands to the police “GAZelle”, that was coming closer. As it stopped, a few policeponies sprang out of it. We with Spitfire immediately showed them our passports.
“Captain Spitfire? It’s an honor to meet you,” the leader of the police group greeted my companion after checking the documents. “Seems like you’ve dealt with this trouble yourself? These bastards never change, I suppose – they try to rob someone and get hit in the gut!”
“Yes, we are fine. Though, I’ll share this victory with my friend,” Spitfire gestured at me. “He’s a sharpshooter, isn’t he?”
“Indeed he is – these pals won’t be able to rob anyone for a long time. What was your name again, son?”
“Nick. And yeah, I had a lady with me. I had to do something… Though, I prefer to not get in fights at all,” I responded, blushing.
“Well, you did everything that you needed to do. Good job,” the policepony shook my hand. “Well, we have to go. Stay out of trouble!”
When the police workers had collected the thugs and set off in their van, we with Spitfire continued our walk. My back hurt slightly, thanks for the pegasus’s impact. However, in all other aspects, I felt myself great, and even my mood was good.
“Hey, Nick,” suddenly, Spitfire said, “You’ve never told me that you had a weapon strapped to yourself. More than that, I don’t understand how did you hide it so I didn’t notice.”
“Usually it lays in a glovebox of my car. But now, I am without my car, as you can see,” I chuckled. “Keeping myself protected here is much easier, than back home. There having a gun like this one without permission is illegal, you know… That was causing me a lot of trouble.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for example, I was going back home from my work. I saw how two thugs were trying to rob a lady. Well, with boiling blood and immense hatred I ran to them. You know, the “knight mode is on”, and stuff… They just stabbed me in the gut. I nearly passed out there.”
“What about these two thugs?”
“My attack gave some time to the girl to run away and call the police. As I woke up in the hospital, they told me that the police had caught them.”
“And what about the girl?” Spitfire asked curiously.
“Well, she visited me for a couple of times,” I sighed and took a pack of cigarettes from my pocket. As I shook it, I heard only one cigarette left. “Only one left… Have to find more later…”
“Seems like she didn’t even give you a hug for your attempt to save her,” Spitfire said. Her voice sounded caring.
“Nope. She had a lot of stuff on her. At least it seemed like it.”
“Poor you – tried to save the day, got stabbed and even didn’t get a kiss in a cheek,” Spitfire giggled. “Oh boy, what a mad world is your homeland…”
“Yeah. But still, it’s my home. We’re all sort of mad out there. For example, for some reason I’ve decided to buy a gun here,” I laughed.
“Well duh, I understand that. If you’re bad at fistfights, you better hold your enemy at distance,” Spitfire shrugged and stopped. I looked at her, being confused. “Hey, thanks for the help with these bastards, by the way. I could’ve dealt with all of them by myself, but it was nice of you to offer your help.”
“Duh, you’re a mare, after all, I had to do that. And even if you weren’t, I’ve learned the rules of our army’s soldier behavior too well. One of them says that the soldier must do everything to protect the civilian population.”
“Don’t be so modest. You’ve shown everyone that you have a noble spirit and bravery to help someone in need. That means a lot to me,” Spitfire said, and in one swift move, hugged me tightly. “You may not have magical abilities, enhanced strength or wings as we ponies do. But nonetheless, you’re still an awesome person. Think about it.”
“Shucks, you make me blush,” I replied, feeling how the blood was flowing through my facial muscles because of embarrassment. But what I did not expect was a quick hot kiss into my right cheek. After it, Spitfire released me, and started to walk away.
“Don’t just stay there, or you’ll catch cold,” she said casually. I stood for a couple of seconds, being absolutely flustered. So, I finished my cigarette, and walked after the mare. My mind was racing, not knowing, how to react.
I flew above the snowy sight in my plane. The time was 14:32, and I was in a good mood. The sky above my machine was grey, with the clouds being at the altitude of more than five thousand meters. I was returning from the flight tests, which took place in Cloudsdale. I was desperate to see Spitfire there, but unfortunately, she didn’t have the time to join me – she was busy with her Wonderbolts crew. So, I was coming back to our bureau’s airfield in Canterlot. Just as usual, I contacted the control tower:
“Eagle One, this is Fox Two. Requiring the clearance for landing procedure.”
“Fox Two, this is Eagle One. Can you hold up for a little? What’s your fuel status?”
“One hundred and fifty kilograms. What’s happening out there?” I asked, being confused. Usually I got the clearance pretty quick.
“We’re having guests on the airfield. Very important guests. What’s your course?”
“Nine-two-zero.”
“Roger that, Fox Two. Keep the altitude of two thousand meters, they will pass above you.”
After I’ve heard the control tower’s message, I became confused even more. However, pretty soon I’ve heard a thundering sound behind myself. I saw five airplanes in my rearview mirror that were passing five hundred meters above my course. My eyes became wide as saucers – there were two Il-76’s and three Su-30’s. All of them had Russian Aerospace Military insignias, and unique painted fuselages, and formed a nice diamond, while passing above me.
“Russian Knights! How?!” I shouted, forgetting that my communicator was still on.
“They are staying at our airfield, Fox Two. Let them pass,” the man from the control tower replied. After that, I saw the indication that someone was trying to contact me. So, I pushed the button to enter the chatter.
“Unidentified aircraft, number RA-30616, name yourself!” a loud voice demanded. I assumed that it was a voice of the airgroup commander.
“Hear you loud and clear. Fox Two at your service!”
“Roger that, Fox Two. This is the Russian Knights group commander colonel Ryazanov. We are here for the first time, and you seem familiar to this place, could you please lead us to the Canterlot airfield? We have the contact with the control tower, but we’ve lost our navigation markers,” the harsh voice softened.
“That’s a great honor to meet you, comrade colonel. Follow me, I am heading towards the airfield myself.”
After receiving a positive response, the group slowed down, and I passed below them. I could see the fat bellies of transport aircraft, and sleek air intakes of the jetfighters. I’d never seen them that close before, especially in mid-flight. So, I pushed the engine control rod to its maximum, and engaged the nitrous oxide system, so the group would feel themselves more comfortable at higher speed. As my plane started to accelerate, I started to maneuver, showing the way to the group. They followed me neatly, keeping a stable diamond formation. Pretty soon, as we’d reached the opening in the mountains which lead to the airfield, I contacted the group again.
“Comrade colonel, this is Fox Two, we’re reaching the airfield. I’ll circle around and wait until the runway will be clear.”
“Thanks for the help, Fox Two. We’ll meet on the ground,” colonel Ryazanov replied. After that, I moved out from the glissade, to give some space for the group. As I flew near the mountains, I saw how the heavy cargo planes landed first, and the jetfighters followed after them. As they released the braking parachutes and moved away from the runway, I laid my plane on the landing course, and pretty soon landed myself. As I found out, the group’s hangars stood near mine, so when I parked my plane and got out, I ran to them quickly, being excited.
I saw that the technical personnel was working with the jetfighters already, making sure that they won’t be damaged by anything even while they were in the hangar. Near one of the Su-30’s, I saw a tall and buff man in bomber jacket, heavy boots and leather gloves with white helmet still on him. As he was commanding his crew, I assumed that this was the colonel. At first, I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I just stood near the steering road, not knowing what to do. However, as he noticed me, he shouted:
“Hey, you! You are the pilot of that plane, who helped us out there?”
As he asked me, I ran towards him, and almost instinctively took a stance.
“Fox Two, reporting for duty!” I replied, but then remembered, that I left the army service years ago. I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, comrade colonel, just reflexes. Name’s Nick.”
“Don’t worry about that. Once a soldier is always a soldier, even if he’s demobilized. You can call me Alexander Vasilievich,” Ryazanov said and extended his hand. As we shared our handshakes, he asked me, “Is there any place where we can smoke?”
“Sure. We have a trash container behind every hangar.”
“Okay, then… Alexeev, Mikoyan! Want to smoke?”
“Of course, comrade colonel,” two pilots peeked out from behind one of the jetfighters.
“Nick, lead the way.”
As we walked behind the hangar, I took out a pack of “Belomorkanal” from my trench coat and offered it to everyone.
“Thanks, but we’re good,” one of the pilots said and took a pack of his own from his bomber jacket. Pretty soon, the air around us became filled with hot smoke.
“Pleased to meet you all,” I replied with a smile, and shook the officer’s hands. “Name’s Nick. What brought you here?”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are arranging a meeting in their castle. It will include a large amount of Equestrian and Russian military. So, we are performing there,” Alexeev said. “Looks like that our visit was a surprise, wasn’t it?”
“Sure it was. Noone has mentioned that you’d come in the schedule,” I chuckled and released a big cloud of smoke from my mouth.
“Schedule? I thought that you were just passing by,” Mikoyan laughed slightly, and everyone followed after him.
“Yeah, all my flights are scheduled. I’m testing airplanes, you know,” I chuckled.
“Interesting. Do you work at some design bureau?” Ryazanov asked curiously.
“Yes. I’m an engineer and a test pilot of a small local design bureau. Our base is this airfield.”
“And you were piloting one of your bureau’s machines?”
“Of course.”
“Well, it looks quite aerodynamic, if you ask me. What engine does it have?”
“Two Rotax engines, built in a single block with additional nitrous oxide system and two custom superchargers!” I said proudly and received a nod from the colonel.
“Not too bad. What’s the maximum speed?”
“Four hundred and twenty kilometers per hour.”
“That’s something to talk about,” Mikoyan agreed. “Was it a sportsplane?”
“Of some sort. I’ve performed some high pilotage on it, however, my health won’t let me to test it properly – my friend Dimitry has to arrange some test flights up in the Cloudsdale.”
“Oh yes, we passed this city while getting here,” Alexeev said. “Never thought that one day I’ll see a city in the clouds…”
“Or anthropomorphic ponies in general!” Ryazanov laughed loudly, and everyone followed after him, including myself.
“Heh, I actually know a few of them personally. Despite having a strange look and abilities, they are just like us,” I said. After that, my mobile phone rang. “Oh hang on, I’ve got an incoming call.”
As I picked up the phone, I saw that Spitfire was calling. That slightly surprised me – she almost didn’t use her mobile phone, except for something important.
“Hello?”
“Nick! Where the fuck are you?! I’m searching for you for like an eternity! Are you at the airfield?” Spitfire literally shouted into her phone. She sounded angry.
“Of course I’m at the airfield! I’m behind the hangar number three.”
“I’ll come soon,” she replied harshly and hang up the phone. I sighed, and took another cigarette from the pack.
“And now, gentlemen, you’ll see one of my friends,” I said and looked at my wristwatch. “Incoming in four… Three… Two… One…”
“Oh there you are, mister!” I heard a loud and harsh voice behind myself. As I turned around, I received a powerful punch in my face. I didn’t pass out, but it hit me so hard that I fell on the ground. My sight became blurry.
“What… The hell…” I managed to say, trying to stay conscious. After that, Spitfire grabbed me by my trench coat, and lifted back on my feet, so I would face her. She seemed furious.
“How DARE you! To exceed your own limits! You’ve told me yourself about your health state! And what do I see? Pilotage that most certainly would KILL you! Are you insane or what?!” she shouted in my face.
“There was some top pilotage, I know that… But nothing that would exceed my limits,” I replied. However, that angered Spitfire even more.
“Oh yes, I know that “nothing”! The last time we did these figures, you were nearly passing out, and now you do the same at even higher speeds! You may not fucking know, but I care for you, for fuck’s sake! And you did that just after exiting the Cloudsdale!” Spitfire shouted at me again. However, she noticed some men around me who were looking at the scene curiously. “What the fuck are you looking at?”
“Nothing. We were just casually smoking with our new friend,” Ryazanov said, almost bursting with laughter.
“You don’t seem local. Who are you?” Spitfire’s voice softened slightly, and she released me. I backed off slightly, and finally lit up my cigarette, that I was still holding in my hand.
“We are from the Russian Knights aerial performance group. This airfield is our temporary base right now,” Alexeev answered. After that, everyone’s presented themselves, and shook Spitfire’s hand.
“Captain Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts aerial performance team,” Spitfire introduced herself. “Sorry about the scene – I was worried about my dear friend. Can you imagine – he was reaching his own limits even without warning me! Even when his plane didn’t pass the full complex of tests!”
“Well, you may didn’t know that, but our engineering works like that,” Mikoyan explained. “Every plane must be tested at its maximum before it could be put into production. So, I think that he was right in this situation.”
“Though, he could use some help from you, too,” Ryazanov interrupted. “Though, you don’t need to exaggerate, too. I don’t think that he didn’t know the risk and his own limits, if he’s an engineer.”
“Exactly. Sorry for not letting you know,” I apologized before Spitfire.
“You know, this is a first time I see a pegasus that close,” Alexeev hummed. “And it’s almost impossible to believe that you can fly as fast as they told me about you with your wings.”
“Well, that’s just me. Magical abilities and stuff,” Spitfire replied casually. “I’ve never heard about your group before. What planes do you have?”
“Two cargo Il-76 cargo planes with technical personnel and equipment, and three Su-30 jetfighters. We can have a closer look, if you want,” colonel Ryazanov offered.
“Of course!” I replied enthusiastically. “Spitfire, do you want to come?”
“Sure thing,” she agreed. After that, we finished our smoking and walked into the hangar, where the planes stood.
“Woah… They look big,” Spitfire said after getting closer to one of the planes.
“Yeah, they are pretty heavy. However, there are a lot of airplane types around our world, so even heavier jetfighters also exist,” Mikoyan said and patted the plane’s hull. “Do you like it?”
“It’s absolutely fascinating,” I said with awe, while looking over the machine. “Two AL-31F engines?”
“Yes. Also, a few custom tweaks, such as controlled exhaust nozzles. It can do a lot of complex figures, such as “cobra” or “bell”. Very, very powerful machine.”
“What’s the “cobra”? Never heard about this trick before,” Spitfire asked. After that, Ryazanov showed her how the plane maneuvers while doing the figure with his hands, which impressed the mare. “Huh, like that? We ponies can’t do that. That must’ve taken a lot of effort from your engineers.”
“Of course. This maneuver was invented by Pugachev during the tests of Su-27,” Ryazanov explained. “It became possible after the invention of fly-by-wire system. As no human being can’t follow the maneuverability of modern airplanes, this system helps to calculate the right maneuvering and stabilize the machine.”
“That’s some technological hard rock…” I responded. I knew what the colonel was talking about, but still felt that all this tech was fascinating.
“Indeed it is. Do you want to have a look at the cabin?”
The colonel gestured to the ladder, that stood near the machine and which lead to its cabin. As I climbed at the plane’s hull, I gave a look to the colonel.
“Can I… Can I have a seat?”
“Sure. Just don’t touch anything without my permission.”
As I sat into the cabin, the colonel sat on the hull on my right side, and Spitfire hovered above. The machine looked fascinating – it had nice LCD and LED displays everywhere. It looked nothing like my machine’s panel, with all its clock-like indicators.
“Alright, as you can see, a panel of a modern jetfighter looks like nothing else. All these displays show the readings of everything that the pilot needs to see – altitude above the sea level, actual altitude, the velocity, the G-forces, fuel level… Pretty much everything. And what is more important, these displays are modular and customizable.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, being confused.
“For example, if one of these displays is damaged, you can switch the readings so another one would show them. And, when you are back home, you just get rid of a damaged display and switch it to a new one. No need to disassemble the whole panel, as you would do in a regular airplane,” Ryazanov chuckled.
“Cool… I like the idea. Maybe we should do the same with our own airplanes,” I replied, being intrigued.
“All this stuff looks geeky, if you ask me. But nonetheless, it allows you to do very complex figures. That’s very stunning,” Spitfire gave an understanding nod.
“By the way… Is the ejection system always online?” I asked the colonel.
“Of course. Why do you ask? Don’t even try to pull the handle,” he warned me, being confused.
“Nah, I just heard a lot of stories about technicians ejecting and hitting the hangar’s roof,” I chuckled, and started to get out from the cabin.
“Ah, now I get it! These stories are myths, however, the situation is quite possible. Once we’ve decided to test this system on a mannequin. It smashed against the hangar’s roof,” Ryazanov laughed.
As I got off the plane’s hull, and Spitfire landed nearby, she asked:
“Comrade colonel, do you have any spare time before the show? Maybe we could drink together and meet my team. Maybe we could’ve exchanged a couple of tricks.”
“Only after the show, comrade captain. However, you can see us here, on the airfield,” Ryazanov answered with a smile. After that, he looked at his wristwatch. “Well, soon we will have another flight. We will see you around.”
And, a bit later, when three jetfighters took off the runway of our small airfield, we with Spitfire watched them with awe. And at that particular moment I thought that even when you just know such awesome people as these pilots, they can encourage you to do something better than you usually did. That evening, I made a note in my notebook, which said:
“Consider installing electronic displays instead of old panels.”
“Mayday”. What a strange word. When you hear it while being on the ground, you don’t give it a lot of your attention. You may hear it while playing videogames, or while watching the TV. And every time when you hear it, you don’t think that one day you may use it yourself.
Flight tests of our little sportsplane were going on. Day after day, more and more things in the machine were changing, however, the overall structure was solid as rock. The serial production of the machine looked perspective, and our design bureau began to build another two machines for an expanded test program.
It was a nice, cloudless day. I was passing above the city of Canterlot at a height of four thousand meters. However, I wasn’t lucky that day – at some point, the power began to fall, I felt a smell of smoke, and saw how the exhaust pipes began to throw fire out of them. In a few seconds, the hull of the engine of my plane began to burn – I saw how the fire began to beat out from the holes between the hull panels.
“Mayday, This is Fox Two, I have an emergency situation, the motor is on fire. Losing power, flying above the city of Canterlot, course five-four-two. Requesting emergency landing,” I said into the radio. I was surprised, that my voice was calm. In my mind, I was going mad.
“Roger that, Fox Two, we see you on the radar. Do you think that you can make it to the airfield?”
“Not sure about that, but I will try.”
“If you will not be sure, you are clear to eject. Fire teams are on the move at the airfield, too.”
As I received the transmission, my engine started to cough. I was losing power rapidly. Pretty soon, I began to lose altitude, too.
“That’s not good,” I groaned, as I saw how the altimeter began to spin counter-clockwise. As I looked around, I saw that I was going to hit the ground in the city. “Fuck, that’s even worse!”
So, while I still had the chance, I engaged the nitrous oxide system. That gave a dying engine a punch, and it worked for a few more seconds before it died completely. I was speeding towards the Canterlot’s roofs. So, I had to do something to avoid hitting the ground. I pushed the flight control stick to its limit, and downed the nose of my plane to gain more speed. The altimeter was spinning like mad.
“Three… Two and a half… Fuck, fuck, fuck!” – I shouted, while looking at the altimeter and the actual altitude gauge. I didn’t know, what my speed was, but when I felt the strong vibration, I understood that the machine had exceeded the safe limit of four hundred and sixty kilometers per hour. And, when the actual altitude above the city was just five hundred meters, I pulled the stick with all my might. I felt how the blood was flowing away from my head. I was losing consciousness, however, my grip on the flight control stick was hard. I gritted my teeth, trying to fight with the darkness that fell upon my eyes. I couldn’t see or feel anything, for that moment I was pulling the stick instinctively. And, at some point, my brain shut down.
After a few seconds of being unconscious, I felt how my senses were coming back to me. First, my vision returned, and I could finally see what was going on. As it turned out, my maneuvers had allowed the damaged machine to glide away from the city. Those were the good news. However, after that I noticed that it was very hard to breathe in the cockpit. As I looked around, I saw that the smoke was filling it, coming from under the front panel. I started to cough and decided to abandon the machine.
“Well, it was nice knowing ya’,” I said between the coughs and unbuckled the strapping belts. However, when I tried to lift my feet from the pedals, the pain had zapped through my body. I gritted my teeth in attempt to lift my legs, but the pain only grew stronger. And meanwhile, the plane was still losing altitude.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I shouted in pain and frustration. I had to do something, but I couldn’t get out of the machine. My desire to survive became so enormous, that I decided to eject in any possible way. So, I gripped on the canopy emergency opening handle, and pulled it. With a loud “bang”, the canopy was thrown off the plane. However, during the opening, it’d hit the vertical stabilizer. The machine began to roll over. I understood that I had only a few seconds left to leave it, however the G-force wouldn’t let me out just with my hands. I tried hard to get out, but I could do nothing. At some point, I understood that I couldn’t get out from the machine. I remembered the old Soviet song, performed by Mark Bernes, which was called “The Enormous Sky”. It was telling the story about two pilots, who’d paid the price of their lives to save the peaceful citizens from their damaged machine. I remembered many strange things during these seconds. I wanted to live so desperately…
However, when I closed my eyes, I felt a strong grip on myself. I felt that something was dragging me out of my machine. I felt an enormous pain in my legs, as I was being dragged out from the cockpit. When I finally felt that I was free, I opened my eyes and saw, how my plane was going down. I instinctively tried to find the parachute opening ring, but I felt a strong grip on my hand. When I looked at it, I saw that someone was holding it. And, when I looked around, I saw that someone was holding me in the air, too. These “someone” appeared to be Soarin and Rainbow Dash, who were holding me by my parachute backpack. Meanwhile, Spitfire was holding my hand. When I finally realized that, I felt myself sick. And, when I heard a loud screeching sound below myself, and saw, how my plane crashed, I finally lost my consciousness.
I woke up in the hospital. Second after second, while waking up, my mind was filling with immense despair. The very first more-or-less powerful machine of our design bureau had crashed, and I couldn’t prevent it. While waking up, I kept my eyes shut, and gritted my teeth in frustration.
“Don’t grit so hard, or your teeth will fall off,” I heard a voice somewhere nearby. I opened my eyes and looked around. I found myself lying in bed. I was without my clothes, only in hospital robe and my underwear. On my right side was a window that leaded to the street. I remembered the sight – it was quite typical for Canterlot. I assumed that I was in Canterlot Central Hospital. On my left stood a table and a chair. Spitfire sat there, looking at me curiously.
“Hi there, Spits. Looks like I’ve found myself in some deep shit, haven’t I?” I asked tiredly.
“Well, the blood vessels in your feet didn’t survive the excessive pressure the G-force gave you. I’ve noticed how you tried to get out of the plane using just your bare hands before I’d pulled you out, so I asked the doctor about it for you,” she said and got up from the chair. After her words, everything in me started to boil.
“Does that mean… That I will never walk again?”
“What? No, of course not! What gave you that thought?”
I lifted my trousers to give my legs a good look. They looked awful – my feet were blue, perhaps of the blood that came from the destroyed blood vessels.
“That doesn’t look good…” I said, being hypnotized by the look of my legs.
“It sure doesn’t. However, I’ve asked a few unicorn doctors about your situation, and they said that they will replace your old blood vessels with artificial ones. Nanotechnologies of Earth have a wide range of applications here in Equestria right now,” Spitfire said with a smile. “I don’t know how it works. It just does. You’ll have an operation tomorrow.”
“Huh, cool… At least, I will be able to walk and fly again,” I said with a relief. “And does that mean, that I can do top pilotage?”
“Of course. Your new legs will be better in almost all aspects.”
“Wonderful, wonderful…” I smiled and gave Spitfire a look. “Hey… Thanks for saving me out there. I wouldn’t even need a grave if I’d crashed.”
“No problems, pal. We with our squad were flying around the area, so it was our duty to save you. And thank you for not ejecting above the city, by the way – the plane could’ve caused a lot of trouble, if it would crash out there.”
“Geez, thanks… Though, I did everything solely on my instincts,” I blushed and brushed my hair.
“Well, you did everything right, so I don’t care, were it your instincts or not,” Spitfire’s voice softened, and she came to my bed. She sat near me, and hugged me tightly. “I was worried about you, Nick. I never thought that someone so close to me will be only a few seconds away from his own death.”
“At least now everything is okay. Everything’s over. However, I miss my plane. It was sleek and shiny…” I said with a sigh, and after that, returned the hug. I felt my eyes watering, and how a few teardrops ran down my cheeks. “Nobody had saved me like that before, Spitfire. You… You did the thing that even I couldn’t do. I…”
“Shut up, Nick. For a single second.”
I stopped talking. I felt the warmth of Spitfire’s fur on my face and her warm breathing on my neck. She smelled like petroleum. I liked the smell of petroleum…
“I don’t care what you can do and what you can’t. You are my friend for a good reason, you know that? You are so close to me that I don’t even know what to think. I can say words like these only about a little amount of ponies around here. For another time – you may not have magical abilities, ability to fly or enhanced strength. You are awesome in general. I don’t need anything more from you. Just… Be yourself. Do you understand that?” Spitfire said quietly into my ear, and I nodded.
“You are… You are just so good, that sometimes I even think that I don’t deserve a friend like you. I am a small man with my own little deeds, good and bad. I just can’t do anything about these thoughts. I just can’t!”
“You don’t need to. All of us have our own sins. All of us are so imperfect… And nonetheless, everyone deserves a friend. Do you want to know, what fancies me in you?”
I nodded. After that, Spitfire released her hug and backed off slightly, so she would face me.
“Yes, you are a small person. You have your own little dreams and goals. But you make these dreams come true. For example, your desire to fly,” Spitfire wiped teardrops from my cheeks with her palm, “Of course, you have no magic in your world. You even don’t have wings like we do. And nonetheless, you’ve learned how to build airplanes – the machines that allow you to fly. You build these machines, after all. And when everything went wrong, your first move was to save the machine and the ponies on the ground. You didn’t think about yourself until you just knew that you can’t do anything about the situation. That’s the second thing – you were thinking about how you could turn the situation so no one would get hurt. I saw that, when we were fighting with thugs, and I saw that again. And what about your capabilities…” Spitfire grinned, “Well, when your legs will be fixed, we can train at the Wonderbolt’s base. We can move your flight test programs there, and I can train you – both physically and your pilotage. What do you say?”
I was shocked. I never thought that I could get myself an invitation to test my tech and fly with Spitfire on a regular basis. So, the answer was obvious.
“Yes… My answer is yes, Spitfire. Thank you so much, it’s a great honor to me.”
“No problems, mate. See you soon. With your new legs!” Spitfire smiled and got up from my bed. After that, she waved me her hand and walked out from the room. I was smiling silly.
“Looks like someone’s got a crush on our cap?” I heard a voice from the side of the window. I saw a rainbow hair peeking out of it.
“Maybe, Rainbow. Hi, by the way!” I said, still smiling. After that, the window opened and Rainbow Dash climbed inside. Soarin followed after her.
“Hello there, mate,” he said, and shook my hand. “Feeling okay?”
“Well, a slight pain in my knees won’t kill me. I’m in one piece, the day had been saved by you three – everything’s awesome!” I replied happily.
“That’s the spirit! Now, tell us, what happened out there?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. And for the rest of the day, we were talking about the details of the accident, and I felt myself relaxed. In a next few days, I got myself new blood vessels…
