Mareimar AFB
Solar Empire Equestria
9 October 2017
00:37 hours.
The group landed at the home base for the Wonderbolts and Fluttershy's squadron, and taxied up to a spot near the hangars. Though it was the Empire's largest base, it was empty as all of the squadrons were still out mopping up resistance around the LoD controlled lands.
As soon as they got out of the planes, they were greeted by the base commander.
"Greetings Lunar squadron. I'm Colonel Flitter, the commander of this base."
"So what's the story?" Maverick asked.
"Twilight is waiting for you inside our situation room. She'll fill you in," she replied. And they headed in.
Twilight already had a diagram set up as they sat down.
"Nice to meet you in person. Congratulations on ending the war!"
"So what do you have for us?" Maverick asked.
"After the destruction of the base controlling the satellite, we detected a change in the trajectory of it. After looking over the data, we have determined the satellite is going to reenter the atmosphere and ultimately crash. Our projections show it will impact Manehattan if it stays on it's current course."
Everypony gasped at the news.
"Crap even after death Discord is causing chaos," replied Glory.
"So what do you need us for?" asked Ice.
"We need you to intercept as soon as it drops low enough for you to reach it, and destroy it before it reaches the City. We picked you because our other squadrons are tied up, and because of your performance in this war. The only way to destroy this satellite is to take out it's four control modules. These are located at the front of it, but because it's front is armored, you'll have to shoot it from the back. Behind the control heads is two sets of fins that rotate in opposite directions that are part of the stabilization system. To hit the modules you will have to destroy the solar panels and first set of fins, then fire through the gap in the gyro ring. Once the modules are destroyed get away from it as it's programmed to self destruct if control is completely lost."
"So what weapons can we use to destroy it?" inquired Sunfire.
"Because of the reentry the modules will be hot enough for a heat seeker to lock on, but we will also furnish you with rocket pods that you can use on the other parts of the satellite."
Then Flitter spoke.
"Also we noticed you have on of our CFA-44's."
"Oh uh, yeah. Well..." Maverick said.
"Don't worry it's fine. You don't have the ADMM pods, but we still do. Though since the factory where the missiles were made was destroyed, we were only able to come up with enough missiles for three rounds. So use them wisely."
"You can count on us," he replied. "So when will it be in range?"
"Around 06:40 hours, so you can rest for a bit in the lounge. We'll get your planes refueled and rearmed during then and make sure the ADMM system works properly."
"OK. See you in a bit," and they headed for the lounge.
"Who would've thought we would be bombing the Empire one day and defending it the next?" Dahlia said.
Whiteblaze replied. "Remember many NLR citizens have family in Manehattan, and it would hit us just as hard. And one goal by both sides in this war was to limit civilian casualties."
"I'm up for it," replied Sunfire. "I mean how hard can it be to destroy a satellite?"
"We'll see," Maverick replied.
______________________
Southwest of Prairie City, Crystal Empire
05:52 hours.
The first hint of light was visible as the squadron roughly followed the border Northeast to the intercept point, which would be between and South of Los Alicornes and Dunlap.
"Thunderhead to Lunar Squadron. reentry of the satellite is starting. It will be low enough in approximately 40 minutes."
"Roger Thunderhead," replied Maverick. Soon the glow was visible. It looked like a big blue star with flickers of yellow.
"Now that is pretty," Glory said.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and it will burn up," added Whiteblaze.
"I can't wait to see this sunrise. It will be like the dawn of a new civilization where the Empire and Republic are at peace," Dahlia said.
"Yes. And we can't let this satellite ruin it," replied Maverick.
A short time later they were 16 miles and 33 minutes from the intercept when Thunderhead came on.
"Thunderhead to all planes. I'm picking up something... all planes 9 bogeys inbound at high speed, break!"
"What?" Glory said. As they started to break a laser shot through the formation, cutting off Whiteblaze's right wing.
"BLAZE!" Glory yelled.
"DAMMIT not again!" He managed to punch out of the plane as it started spinning.
"What was that!?" Sunfire exclaimed.
Nine dots appeared in the sky ahead of them.
"ready for the final hand, Spade?"
"Nightshade."
"ARGH how many times do we have to flush before you go away?" replied Sunfire.
"What are you doing Nightshade? It's over! Your leader is dead!" Yelled Ice.
"True, but we can still get our revenge by taking you out," she replied.
"Do you even care about that satellite that's heading for Manehattan?" Maverick said.
"Why would we? I'm sure the Empire can take it out by themselves anyway."
"You worthless bitch," snapped Dahlia.
Soon they saw the formation of planes.
"Lunar 13 to Thunderhead we have a visual on the planes."
"Roger what are they?"
"Eight of them are those Shinden ones they were working on, the other I have no idea. It looks like a cross between a Morgan and a Nighthawk."
"Thunderhead I'll send you a photo, replied Glory."
They immediately engaged the planes.
"I though you died in the tunnel?" Maverick said.
"Your friend merely took out my radar and radio. If you had looked behind you, you would've seen I was on your tail the whole time," she replied. "Plus I ran out of bullets."
"This is between you and me, not Manehattan and my wing," he replied.
Sunfire got on the tail of one of the Shindens', but had to break off after Nightshade got behind her. She narrowly missed getting fried.
"I can't stay in place long enough to get a shot off," she said.
The squadron did their best to get behind the bandits, but as soon as they did, another or Nightshade would appear on their six. In the case of her, remaining in one spot for even a second would mean death by laser.
"You can twist and turn all you want, but at some point you will make a mistake and one of us will be there," the purple Pegasus said over the radio.
"Spade what do we do?" Glory asked.
He hated to admit it, but Nightshade was right. Sooner or later one of them would make a mistake and she would get them. He couldn't use the ADMM's because he was too close, and could hit one of his wingponies. Fot the first time he felt helpless.
After some more thought, he came up with an idea. He knew what Nightshade's state of mind was, so he would try and use it to pull her away from the battle. It meant leaving the rest of his wing behind, but it was their only chance.
"Nightshade this isn't about supporting Discord. It's about me and you so cut the bullshit."
"No it is about my country. Getting revenge on you is just icing on the cake."
"Bullshit. You yourself said your country is dead, and it is. Both the Crystal Empire and Discord."
The radio was quiet for a second before she came on again.
"Whatever. At least I'll finally make you pay for what you did."
"There's one thing though. You'll still be a chicken shit who isn't as good as me," he fired back.
"WHAT?" she yelled.
"Think about it. Right now it looks like the only way you can get me is with the aid of your squadron. You don't have the stones to take me one on one."
"Maverick what are you doing?" Glory asked.
"Like hell Spade!"
"Not to mention you really don't seem to care about the rest of your wing. Your plan is to have the other eight keep my wing distracted and then you'll pick them off one by one with your laser, and since one of mine will be on the tail of one of yours, there's a good chance you'll hit one of them with that thing also."
"BULLSHIT! This wing like my family!"
"Like our squadron was during our Crystal Empire days? You sure treated us like family after that incident."
That last statement finally made her snap.
"So what the buck are you getting at?" she yelled.
"Me and you, one on one. No help. We'll see who's best. Otherwise I'll just let one of your wingmembers shoot me down, then you'll be denied your revenge."
"Maverick what the hell!?" snapped Glory.
"It's OK. I know what he's doing," replied Ice.
The radio was silent afterwards.
I've raised the bet for the final time Nightshade. Do you see it, or fold?"
After a short time her plane appeared beside his. Like her first one it was painted blood red with black tips and insignia.
"I see it," she replied before breaking off. Maverick immediately gave chase. Glory saw them speed away from the furball.
"Good luck Spade."
Maverick got on her tail and fired a missile, but it lost tracking almost instantly.
"That's not going to work Spade," she said as she pulled a snap roll and got behind him. He just missed getting hit by the laser.
Then another call came over the radio.
"Thunderhead to Lunar One switch to your winchester frequency."
"Roger." He did, then got on again. "Find out what plane that is?"
"Yes. It's code name is Falken. It's an advanced stealth fighter the LoD was keeping under wraps. In addition to the TLS, it has a cannon and missiles, and a powerful ECM system which will make missile lock from the rear impossible. You're only chances are to fire a missile head on or a gun kill. And I don't think you want to do the first one."
"Roger Thunderhead," he replied. He performed a split S and sped away from Nightshade, blasting through some clouds. She turned around and gave chase, but lost him. Just like that he was on her tail again and tried for a gun kill, but she hit the brakes and did a sharp loop to get behind him. Right after that he did a cobra which put her ahead of him again. A couple more rolls and she had the upper hand again.
"Keep trying," she said as she fired the laser. It grazed his right wing tip.
"Damn," he said as he pulled up, then hit the breaks and nosed over. As she pulled up to follow him he dived under her and sped away.
Back at the furball not much had changed until one of the Shinden pilots made a goof, and Ice got him.
"It's seven to four now. A little better," Ice said.
"Big deal," replied Dahlia as she dodged a missile.
Meanwhile the duel continued.
"It figures you'd need a laser too," Maverick said to Nightshade.
"Oh quit whining," she replied. They both reversed turns and dived, and soon were heading for each other. Instead of passing both pulled up into a steep climb.
"Not bad. But try following me now," She gunned the afterburners and headed straight up. Maverick did the same and they were parallel to each other. It was a situation Maverick didn't want to be in. The two planes would drag race up until they hit stall speed. The first to avoid stalling by diving down would lose. Maverick just kept the throttle forward.
"I'm pretty sure my plane's stall speed is lower than yours," she said.
"I still can't believe you've changed this much. You're not the Nightshade I knew."
"Of course I'm not," she replied.
"Just remember: Whatever has happened to you in the past and will happen to you in the future is your fault."
"Huh?"
"Think it over." The planes were now approaching their stall speed. Both pilots refused to turn down, and soon reached their stall points at the same time. Maverick managed to do a tail slide and regained control after a short fall. Nightshade took a little longer.
Despite the warning about the ECM system, Maverick selected the ADMM system, set it for "slow launch" and got a lock.
"See if you can handle this," he said as he pulled the trigger. The 12 missiles flew out of their pods at two second intervals.
"AH!" She yelled as she started evading them. The Falken's ECM system did it's job, and she dodged the missiles with the grace of a ballerina.
"This is fun. Can you do it again?" she said as she did a split S, which put her on a collision course with the last missile.
"DAMN!" She fired the laser, but it was too late and it hit the missile only a few feet from the plane. She managed to get on his tail again and tried to fire it, but the explosion and debris shattered the laser's lens, rendering it useless.
"Well well well. Looks like we're on an even playing field now," Maverick said.
"I don't need it anyway," she replied as she fired the Falken's cannon. A couple of rounds hit one of Maverick's tails, but didn't damage any control surfaces. He gunned it and pulled up, then hit the brakes and did a short loop to get behing her again. He went for a gun shot, but she dodged it.
"Thunderhead to all planes: Satellite will be in range in 17 minutes."
"Dammit at this rate we're not going to make it," Ice said. Neither side had gained any ground in the furball, and Lunar Squadron had to start conserving their ammo, firing only when a shot was perfect. The Shinden's were more than a match for the Terminators though and easily got out of their way.
"Come on Maverick, get her and get back here," Glory said to herself.
"Gotcha," Nightshade said as she fired a missile. Maverick dropped flares and dodged it.
"Then why am I still flying?" he replied.
"GRRRRRRR" was her response as she fired another, which he dodged too. She fired her cannon and again a couple of rounds hit his plane. By now he had had enough of her, and with the deadline to reach the satellite approaching he tried one last move.
"ENOUGH!" he yelled as he hit the breaks, pulled back on the stick as hard as he could, and pulled the trigger. Things seemed to slow down as the Nosferatu went into a back flip, it's cannon blazing the whole time. Nightshade dived to avoid it, but the nose of the aircraft rotated around in time for several bullets to rip into the Falken's radar and through the front of the canopy, damaging the control panel and showering Nightshade with shrapnel.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" she yelled as warnings went off in the cockpit. She tried to get things under control again, but Maverick had recovered from the flip and was behind her.
"This, ends, now!" he said and he emptied his cannon into her plane. One engine exploded and it started going down.
"Damn... you... Spade..." was the last thing he heard her say.
"Eject Nightshade. Eject!" he said, but there was no response. He watched for her to eject from it, but as it neared the mountains 6,000 feet below him all he saw was an explosion shortly before it hit the side of a mountain.
Maverick just sighed.
"Why Nightshade? Why?" He snapped to and immediately headed back for the furball.
"We can't keep this up for much longer," Dahlia said.
"We have to. Manehattan is counting on us!," replied Ice.
Then they heard what they were waiting for.
"I'm back. On my mark, all of you dive."
"MAVERICK!" yelled Glory.
"OK tell us when Mav', replied Ice.
He set the ADMM system for instant release, and locked up all of the bandits. Since there were more missiles than targets, the computer automatically selected the extras so some planes would have two shot at them.
"3-2--1- DIVE!" he yelled, after which he pulled the trigger and sent the missiles on their way. The squadron dived leaving the LoD planes confused long enough for them to close in. By the time they realized what was happening it was too late, and one after another they exploded as the missiles hit them.
"So... Awesome...", Sunfire said.
"I can only imagine the wingboner Angel would've got from that," replied Ice.
"Thunderhead to Lunar squadron, the scope is clear. You've got 4 minutes to get to the intercept point."
"Roger, we'll try," replied Maverick as they formed up again. "What's the status of Whiteblaze?"
"We've picked up his beacon. We've got a chopper heading there right now," replied Thunderhead.
"Great," he replied, and they headed for the intercept point. As he figured they were still 9 miles from it when the satellite reached the point. The massive shape soon came into view.
"There it is," Ice said. As they flew past to get behind it, they marveled at it's size.
"So we have to get rid of all of that stuff behind the control modules?" Dahlia asked.
"Yes. And at this speed we have to do it quickly. I've got one more multi shot left. I'll use it, then the rest of you fire your rockets in turns. Watch the debris as it flies off," he replied.
They had to fly at nearly full afterburner to keep up with it, but soon they were in position, and Maverick tried to lock it up. The system identified it as a single target, so it would be a matter of luck where they hit.
"Fox 4!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger. The missiles flew out and struck the satellite towards the middle, sending solar panels and other debris flying.
"Look out!" Sunfire yelled as her and Ice dodged one of them.
"Told you to watch out," Maverick said. "Now one at a time use your rockets."
Ice shot first, followed by Dahlia, Glory, and finally Sunfire. The rockets completely stripped off the stuff that was blocking access to the control modules. Now it was time for the hard part: Trying to hit the modules through the slots in the main gyro ring as it rotated.
Thunderhead to Lunar Squadron: Satellite is 57 miles from Manehattan."
"OK do it again. Sunfire you're first."
"Roger Spade." She lined up, and fired her first shot. It missed and hit the Gyro. Her second one connected and destroyed the first. Her last heat seeker also failed to hit one.
"I've got this, Glory said as she lined up for a shot. She fired her last two missiles in a row, and hit the second module.
"Two down. Go Dahlia."
"Lunar Squadron: Satellite is now 39 miles from Manehattan."
She lined up and fired, but the satellite was starting to wobble, making it harder to hit the target, and her last missile missed.
"Damn," she said.
Ice stepped up and fired his. He managed to get the third.
"We're almost there!" Glory yelled.
"Satellite is now 20 miles from Manehattan. Hurry up!" Thunderhead said.
"Well it's up to you Spade," Glory said. The problem was he didn't have any more heat seekers. Just two radar guideds' which wouldn't be able to lock onto the small target that was surrounded by so much other stuff.
"I'm closing in," he replied. He got to within 300 feet of the satellite and fired the missile. It missed.
"I've got one last shot guys. If I can't get it all of you will have to and fire whatever cannon rounds you have left at it."
"Roger, we're ready Mav', replied Dahlia.
He closed to within 100 feet of it, and waited for the right moment. As soon as the opening started to appear he fired.
He got it.
"You did it! Now get out of there before it self destructs!" yelled Glory. They immediately hit the brakes and let it speed away from them.
"Come on. Come on. Detonate!" Sunfire said. 11 miles from Manehattan it finally did. The blast was both heard and seen from the city.
"Lunar One to Thunderhead: Target is down!"
"YAHOO roger Maverick! Great job you guys!" he replied.
"Look at that sunrise," Dahlia said. They looked to the East. High clouds lit up the sky with orange and red as the sun slowly peaked over the horizon.
"This moment will go to the grave with me," replied Ice.
"Best sunrise, ever," added Glory.
Back at Whitemare, Luna, Celestia, and the others soon got word of it.
"They did it!" Twilight said over and over on the video phone while jumping around.
Celestia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now it's over," she said.
"Me going to bury them in medals when they get back," Wigwam said.
"We all will," replied Luna.
"Thunderhead, any word on Whiteblaze?" Maverick asked.
"I hear ya'. I'm fine," he replied faintly over the radio.
"Hey where are you?"
"Almost right underneath you. And I saw everything from down here. Just wait until I get back to base."
"Roger Blaze. Thunderhead here's his coordinates," and he gave them to him.
"Roger. Hey fly slow over Manehattan on your way back home," he replied.
"Oh, OK."
"I wonder why?" Glory asked. As they reached the city it became clear. Below them they could see thousands of ponies in the streets waving at them. Ahead hundreds of pegasi were also waiting for them to pass.
"Well I guess we should do something," Ice said. And with that, the squadron performed synchronized rolls over the city before continuing on for home.
As they Crossed back into NLR airspace, they had a welcoming committee.
"Hey heroes. Welcome back," Dash said. Her, Derpy, Fluttershy, Carrot Top, and a few others were waiting for them.
"I figured you were still mopping up the rest of Discord's forces?" Glory asked.
"Nah we got done with that a few hours ago," she replied.
"Wish I could've been your AWACS for that," Carrot Top replied. "Hope whoever my SEAF counterpart was did a good job."
"Is Whiteblaze okay?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yes, they should be rescuing him right now," replied Glory.
"We'll see you on the ground guys!" Derpy said, and they flew on ahead so they could be there when the squadron got back.
Soon Whitemare loomed ahead of them. Maverick asked the tower for a flyby.
"Roger Lunar One you are cleared for a flyby. Keep it slow."
"Uh oh," Ice said.
"So by slow he means full afterburner?" Sunfire said with a big grin.
"Of course," replied Maverick, and they gunned it.
"There they are!" Pinkie yelled.
"Oh hell plug your ears everypony!" Dash said. The squadron blasted over the base and by the tower with a huge sonic boom, causing the controller to spill his coffee on himself.
"Son of a bitch," he said.
Maverick landed first, followed by the others in pairs. They taxied up to their flight line and parked in their usual spaces. Several hundred ponies including the princesses were waiting for them as they climbed out of their planes. They stopped in front of the crowd for a few seconds, then raised their hooves in the air, getting a roar from the crowd. Pinkie fired her party cannon a couple of times, covering everypony in confetti.
"You did it guys! Awesome!" yelled Moonstone. There were high hoof's all around as everyone congratulated them. Soon Luna and Celestia were in front of them.
"Congratulations. Your brave actions have saved Manehattan, Equestria, and possibly the world," Celestia said.
"And you have helped liberate the three countries that Discord has controlled all of these years," added Luna.
"Just doing our job," Maverick replied.
"Oh quit being so modest Spade," replied Dash. "What you and your squadron did was absolutely awesome! Take pride in it!"
"So what now?" Glory asked.
"Take a well deserved rest guys," Tex said. "You'll need it for what's in store tomorrow."
"Thank you for holding off any celebration until then. I'm tired," replied Ice, and everypony laughed.
"Come on everypony! Let's give a big cheer for Lunar squadron and the Ace of Spades!" yelled Pinke, and all five of them got hoisted up and carried to the main building.
___________________-
Canterlot Castle
10 October 2017
11:30 hours.
A large stage had been set up in the courtyard in front of the castle. Empire and Republic flags fluttered in the breeze. Nearly a thousand ponies, ranging from civilians to pilots filled the courtyard to capacity, with more standing outside of it. Several cameras were already set up and ready to film the event.
On the stage was the brass of both countries' armed forces and other government officials. Off to the side of the stage were more guests including Lunar squadron and the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The first time they had been together in over 5 years. Dash and Fluttershy wore their air force uniforms, Applejack wore her Army one, and as usual Rarity wore a gown that really didn't fit in with an event like this. Everyone was waiting for Luna and Celestia to come out.
"I don't think I've ever been this nervous before," Dahlia said.
"Nervous about what? We're not exactly in a combat situation here," replied Ice.
"What do you have some sort of Pinkie sense now?" Sunfire cracked.
"Did someone say Pinkie sense?" Just like that Pinkie was standing in front of them.
"Hey Pink. How's it goin?" Glory asked.
"Totally awesome! It's great to be back together with my friends!"
Soon the rest of the mane six were with them.
"I can't wait to see what they have in store for you," Dash said to them.
"It'll probably just be medals and a raise in rank," replied Sunfire.
"Yeah but you earned it big time," Twilight said. "You found the evidence that ended the war between us, Destroyed Discord and his weapon, and you saved Manehattan in the face of overwhelming odds."
"Darn straight," added Applejack. "Why ah' ain't never seen a group of ponies do as much as y'all did. Why you ponies deserve the biggest reward the princesses can come up with."
Then Rarity spoke up.
"Now that we're at peace, I have to to say that you're air force has some fabulous camouflage schemes. Is there a way I could get paint samples? I was planning on doing a line of camo pattern clothing with those colors."
Wigwam, who was nearby looked kind of shocked.
"I'm sure I can come up with some," he replied.
Then as the clock struck noon, the music started, and everypony turned their attention towards the stage. After a short time the princess appeared in the door to the castle, and made their way to the stage, with Republic guards standing to their left, and Empire guards to their right. As they stepped up to the podium, cameras clicked furiously, and the crowd cheered. After looking around for a short time, Celestia started the speech.
"Citizens of the Empire and the Republic. Me and my sister stand before you today not as enemies, but once again as family. And I can say with great joy that the war between us is over!"
The crowd roared until Luna started to speak.
"And it gives me great joy to say that the Legion of Discord, thanks to the combined power of our nation's military forces, has been defeated, and Discord has been permanently removed from power."
Even more cheering erupted Until Celestia spoke again.
"For seven months, this war has had Equestria torn in half. Families who lived on both sides haven't been able to see each other, and economies suffered. Today that ends. Not only has the border been reopened, but soon it will only exist on paper. At some point, the New Lunar Republic, Solar Empire, and the former Republic of Dar Shan, will be known as the United States of Equestria!"
The crowd roared for nearly two minutes before She spoke again.
"We are also here to honor a group of pilots, who's acts of bravery led to the end of this war."
Suddenly Pinkie started shaking.
"What is it Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"A doozie!" she replied.
"Like what? What could go wrong?" replied Dash.
Then it was Luna's turn again.
"These ponies from our Air Force overcame overwhelming odds and tragedy, to bring peace between us and the Empire, put the final nail in Discord's coffin, and saved the city of Manehattan from destruction. Join us in congratulating the members of the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron!"
The crowd cheered as the princesses headed over to the squadron with a couple of small boxes.
"Lunar Squadron. Equestria is forever indebted to you for your actions. Please accept these medals as a small token of our gratitude," Celestia said as the two started to pull out two medals for each of them. From Luna the Republic's Medal of Honor, and from Celestia the Empire's Order of Starswirl.
After the medals were place around their necks, they looked up to see a formation of Air Force and Navy planes from both nations fly over. After they passed Luna spoke again.
"We also have one more set of medals to give out. For a pony who paid the ultimate price in this war."
The squadron knew this was coming, and had braced themselves for it.
"Maverick, will you accept these medals for Tiger Angel?"
He slowly stepped forward. He fought it, but a single tear fell from one of his eyes. The princesses smiled slightly at each other before getting the medals out of the boxes. Celestia pulled out the Empire one, and this time Luna pulled out two. One was a purple heart.
"A purple heart?" Maverick asked. Then the squadron heard something.
"Hey... Those are mine." said a frail voice. They turned around to see a black and orange pegasus smiling at them from a wheelchair.
"ANGEL!" They all ran towards her to give her a hug,.
"Hey easy guys, I'm not exactly in mint condition right now."
"How? We saw your plane explode!" cried Glory.
"It did. and I got blown out of it," she replied.
They stopped to look at her. Both of her wings and rear legs were broken. Mane and wing feathers were singed, and she had other bandages around her body.
"Wow you're a mess," Whiteblaze said.
"Hey you're back too," Angel replied.
So where were you all this time?" Maverick asked.
"In a hospital in Stalliongrad," she replied.
"Really?"
The princesses showed up behind them.
"After you defeated those planes over the mountains, we sent in a rescue team to find our pilots that were downed. The rescuers came upon a group of four who had found Angel. She was near death, but they did their best to care for her until they were evacuated," Celestia said.
"why didn't you contact us?" Dahlia asked.
"How could I? There wasn't exactly a direct line to Whitemare from there."
"And it was pretty much kept under wraps by those who were involved," replied Celestia. "I didn't even know about her until yesterday."
It suddenly hit everypony. Through this whole war, the element of kindness was still present in the hearts of some ponies on both sides.
Luna and Celestia finally put the medals around her neck.
"Guess you had a guardian angel," Maverick said.
"I did. The last thing I remembered was getting blown out of the plane and blacking out. I briefly came to for a few seconds, and through my blurred vision could tell I was being carried by a couple of Pegasus angels. I blacked out again, and when I came to I was in a field hospital."
"Wow," was all he could say as they hugged her again. Nearby Dash tried to hide a few tears.
"Dash?" Fluttershy said.
"Dammit, not again!," she replied.
The group turned back towards the crowd, and more cheering erupted.
Several hours later as the celebration was winding down, the squadron chatted with Tex, Luna, and a few others.
"Well you guys have a month off. What are you going to do?" Tex asked.
"Recover," replied Angel.
"Party!" replied Sunfire.
"I'm going to Cloudsdale to visit my family," replied Whiteblaze.
"How about you Spade?" Glory asked.
"I'm going back home," he replied.
"To see if you're family is still there?" Dahlia inquired.
"Yes. And I probably won't be back."
"WHAT?" Glory yelled. The statement shocked everypony.
"Why?" Dash asked.
"My country is free again. It will take some time for it to get back on it's feet, and I want to be there to help rebuild the air force."
None of them could figure out what to say until Luna broke the ice.
"That is a very noble thing for you to do," she replied. "Just remember you are always welcomed to join again."
"But what about us?" Dahlia asked.
"You've got Blaze back, and soon the other members of this squadron that were POW's will be back too," he replied.
"Well no matter what; Once a member of the 13th, always a member of the 13th," Ice said.
"So when are you going to leave?" asked Sunfire.
"Not for a bit. I'll wait until the new government is established. Should take two or three weeks."
"Good, we can still have some fun til' then," replied Angel.
____________________
Whitemare AFB
02 November 2017
12:00 hours.
It was time. The new Crystal Empire government had been established, and Maverick had found a former member of the Air Force who was elected to the position of commander. Maverick would return to Gracemareia Air Force Base to start training new pilots.
He had his stuff packed into two large saddle bags, and was ready to leave the base under his own power.
"We're gonna' miss you," Dahlia said.
"Don't be a stranger OK?" added Angel.
"I'll try not to," he replied.
"It's been a pleasure flying with you," Ice said.
"Same here," he replied. "Not only are you all excellent pilots, you feel like a family. Something I haven't felt since my Crystal Empire days."
"Group hug!" Sunfire yelled.
Afterwards, Maverick was about to leave when Glory spoke up.
"Hey Spade."
He turned around and saw a tear in her eye.
"Take care," she said as she hugged him and then gave him a kiss.
"Now you've got a reason to come back," Angel said. Maverick smiled.
"See ya'" he said. He turned around and spread his wings. Moments later he was airborne and on the way home.
One chapter to go.