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- Side story to SgtAnon.
- > You are Spitfire.
- > Currently facedown in mud, warmed by the early fall sun into a tepid stew.
- > It clings to your coat and clumps in your mane, an affront you would have never tolerated a few months ago.
- > You do not care.
- > Above you, the sky burns. The enemy's rapid-fire guns are sending angry orange-red steams of fire skyward, scything through the remaining pegasi in the air.
- > The air shudders with the roar and rumble of guns, the pop-popping of distant explosions, and the sharper crack-rumbles of pegasus-driven lightning strikes.
- > You do not care.
- > You finally heave your muzzle out of the mud only when your lungs scream for oxygen, a burning need that overrides all other thoughts.
- > Immediately collapsing back down to the ground, you stare upwards dully, watching a few armored chariots vainly attempting to break though the anti-air fire and allow the unicorns inside to wield their magic against the enemies.
- > Even as you watch, a burning light streaks skyward on a column of smoke, homing in with unnatural accuracy on a chariot.
- > The unicorn jumps free to late, and chariot, pegasus, and unicorn alike are all consumed in a flash and puff of smoke.
- > You do not care.
- > Your mind is elsewhere
- > Eyes may view the carnage around you, but it is not what you see.
- > Your vision is locked to a scene not a few minutes prior.
- > They are all there beside you.
- > The finest of your Wonderbolts.
- > Misty Fly on your left, Rapidfire behind her.
- > Fleetfoot covering your back, with Blaze on her wing.
- > To your right is the only pegasus you would ever trust to be your wing.
- > Your glance over and nod to Soarin'; he gives a quick nod back.
- > There's no chance to hide the trepidation in his appearance.
- > None of you are at peak performance, after all.
- > Not after enduring the weeks of siege in Cloudsdale on cut rations.
- > But there was no way to avoid this now.
- > Supplies, not only of food but of medicine and other basic necessities, had begun to run low.
- > You had to open a path for the sky-carts if more was to come.
- > Yet even as Soarin' betrays his apprehension, there is an steel-will determination there to succeed at all costs.
- > You've seen it before, at the start of every race.
- > The only difference is, this time you are racing for more than a medal.
- > More than your lives, even.
- > This time, you race for victory.
- "Break! Break! Go! Go! Go!"
- > Your Wonderbolts react perfectly, launching from a cloud as soon as you give the signal.
- > Banking over another passing cloud, you dive low.
- > Hopefully too low for the enemy's anti-air guns to track with their freakishly unerring accuracy.
- > Dodging and weaving back and forth, you make for the nearest battery of long-range weapons.
- > If you can break these, the siege will be broken. Supplies can get through to Cloudsdale again.
- > You will hit them.
- > You have to hit them.
- > You cannot bear to have to return back to the once-legendary city of the pegasi, only to see more wretchedly thin bodies and dilapidated cloud-structures.
- > Angling towards a patch of trees, you dodge through them barely above the ground.
- > Branches and leaves whip around you, but it is nothing you haven't experienced before on a race.
- > Indeed, you feel the old rush pumping in your blood even though there will be no cheering fans, no basking in success today.
- > The most you can hope for today, is to stave them off the city a while longer.
- > You break through a treeline, the enemy anti-air position in the clear before you.
- > A eight of their ugly, twisted-looking metal vehicles, surrounded by revetments and soldiers dug in.
- > You come in so low over the ground that you can see their shocked faces as you clear the first trenches.
- > Misty's warning cry comes to late.
- > Two of the enemy's vehicles have seen you with their unblinking eyes, the turreted tops swiveling down to track your 'bolts.
- > No!
- > You're so close!
- > Just another couple seco-
- > The vehicles' guns fire with a throaty growl, jets of flame and smoke pouring from their muzzles.
- > An agonized screech wrenches your attention to the side.
- > Just in time to see Rapidfire, surrounded by a cloud of bursting enemy shells, plow into the ground.
- > You don't wait to watch the dust cloud clear.
- > Even if the enemy's guns hadn't gotten him, no pegasus could survive an impact with the ground like that.
- > Not even a Wonderbolt.
- > In the two seconds you have been given, you pass over the cluster of enemy soldiers.
- > Without a thought you pull the handle on the side of your suit.
- > The saddlebag strapped to your side slips open, disgorging a mist of liquid rainbow across their position.
- > You don't hear their cries of shock and surprise, but you know the spicy concoction will have left the alien creatures blinded and distracted - or worse.
- > Four seconds.
- > The vehicles' turrets are moving again, tracking your remaining 'bolts - but it is to late for them to fire again.
- > A quick twist back allows you a perfect four-point sideways landing - slamming into the side of the vehicle evenly on all hooves.
- > A ready-made thundercloud is pulled from its special pouch on the opposite saddlebag.
- > Bucking it against the vehicles' hull, you let the lightning flow through the metal skin.
- > You don't understand how the aliens' machine-weapons work, but you do know that Princess Twilight said a sufficient electrical current can damage or destroy them.
- > So current you give them.
- > Bursting skyward from the disabled vehicle, you see your remaining four 'bolts taking off from their assigned vehicles as well.
- > Up, up, up - you need to gather stormclouds for a proper lightning strike, to finish off the vehicles.
- > Soarin' pulls in beside you. "Easy as pie, eh, Spits?"
- "When I can have one again, I'll tell you!" you rebut, grabbing a dark-looking nearby cloud and preparing it for a proper thunder.
- > "Hah! I'm looking forward to one myself; I'll have a piece in Rapidfire's me-"
- > A sharp pop followed by a growing roar drags your attention downwards.
- > What you see drops an icy ball into your stomach.
- > A spear is rising on flame and smoke from one of the vehicles, right up towards you.
- > They were supposed to be disabled!
- > Did you screw up?
- > Had the aliens found a way around that?
- > Was the princess simply wrong?
- > No, you're overthinking it. Got to-
- "SCATTER, DOWN NOW!"
- > Your shout comes to late.
- > Even as you all break downwards, you can tell you waited to long.
- > The spear is fixated on Fleetfoot.
- > Even with her flight goggles hiding her eyes, you can see the terror on her face.
- "Come on, Fleet."
- > Your voice is soft as you maneuver.
- "Don't lock up. Don't lock up, we've trained on this!"
- > To late Fleetfoot tries to bank off to the side of the missile's flight.
- > It passes her close by and erupts in a blinding flash and deafening thunderclap.
- > There is no Flootfoot moments later.
- > Another growling cough from the guns below, and your attention is again dragged away to see-
- "No."
- > Soarin' is trailing out of a cloud of shell bursts, spinning wildly.
- > Why is stomach-churningly obvious.
- > Where once a wide, strong wing had emerged from his back, is now just a red gash.
- "NO!"
- > Misty Fly crosses your vision, trying to outmaneuver one of the enemy's rising missiles.
- > That is enough to snap you out of it.
- > There is nothing you can do for Soarin'.
- > He's never going to get back to Cloudsdale on one wing.
- > Let alone land safely.
- > You tear your eyes away, unable to bear seeing him hit the ground.
- > Just in time to see an enemy missile fill your vision, colliding with your head seconds later.
- ---
- > Something snaps you out of your memories.
- > Looking around, you blink slightly.
- > What had done that?
- > What had-
- "Spitfire! Captain!"
- > Misty drops in beside you, looking rattled.
- > Her flight suit is torn in several places, blood leaking from some. Shrapnel.
- > "Captain, are you wounded?"
- > You look dumbly at your forelegs, giving all four of the limbs a few experimental steps.
- > They still function, and your wings flap without pain as well.
- > The missile.
- > Why hadn't the missile...?
- > No, no time to ponder that.
- > Just accept the luck Celestia has granted you.
- > You shake your head, pulling off your shattered flight goggles.
- > Thankfully the glass had stayed in its frame, or you would be blind right now.
- "Where.... where's Blaze? Where's your wingpony, Misty?"
- > She shakes her head.
- > "I don't know, Captain. I lost sight of him and can't find him anywhere."
- > Another pause, her voice shakier.
- > "Captain, I saw, Soarin'..."
- > You interrupt her.
- "I saw as well. Come on. This... this failed. We need to get out of here. This..."
- > You look around the battlefield.
- > The sky is still full of pegasi - weaving, dancing, forming thunderclouds.
- > Some play elegant, deadly duels with the enemies' larger metal aircraft.
- > But it is also still full of streams of fire and rising pillars of smoke.
- > There will be no breaking the siege on Cloudsdale today.
- "This is a disaster. We have to go, Misty."
- > "And leave Clo-"
- "I know!"
- > Your voice cracks.
- "I know. I don't want to either, but if we go back there... it's surrender or starve. I can't do either. I have to keep going; I have to keep racing."
- > You pause.
- "For Soarin's sake."
- > Misty stares, then nods.
- > You take off together, sticking low and close to obstacles to fool their anti-air weapons.
- > For once, you let Misty lead.
- > You aren't fully paying attention anyhow.
- > Other images fill your mind.
- > A light-blue coat and darker mane.
- > His laughter, calm and happy as he devoured his way through another pie.
- > Green eyes, half-closed in contentment and bliss.
- > Rejoicing together after another successful race.
- > Limbs curled together on a cloudbed, your muzzle nestled into his wing.
- > You shake yourself free of the memories, narrowing your eyes and pushing your aching wings harder.
- > In that moment, you would unashamedly admit that the tears in your eyes are not just because of the wind gusting over them.
- > You will fight on, though.
- > You will see this alien army cast out of Equestria.
- > For Soarin's sake.
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