Air Horse Aces Ch.26
(Sorry it took a while. My school started on August 15. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. *Salutes*)
*Don't mind the errors or if it sounds rushed.*
Chapter 26: Ace of the Aces.
The sun looked like it stayed on the same spot. Princess Celestia wasn't able to make the sun set in an average pace because it was too dangerous outside to let her do it. The current situation in Canterlot was nothing but a lockdown. You step your hooves out the doors or walls, you might not survive if the fighters consider you hostile. But in thoughts, Evanesce along with Mimic and Kelly weren't aiming to take lives of the innocents. But Razor Whisk had a mind of a psychopath. So he wouldn't care what would happen.
"We finally get to see who is the better pilot." Razor Whisk fired multiple missiles straight for a few Anit-Aircraft guns.
This made Shining Armor get off his AA battery and saw it explode from Razor Whisk's missile. He was lucky enough to wear some armor on him if shrapnel was flying all over. Also, Salin along with the others got off theirs as the other AA guns were destroyed. No casualties, but the batteries were lost. Orela and Cora improvised by using their Changnian P1L to fire on them, but no rounds hit their target. Shining Armor ordered all of them to fall back inside the royal palace and await new orders from either Princess Celestia or General Neon Nimbus. Even though there was no doubt that the E.S.O.F and the Spetslos can't do anything right now, as well as the Canterlot Royal Guards. If the winged ones fly, they won't be able to even affect the hostile planes. All they can do is watch just like everypony in Canterlot.
"If we can just shoot them down, victory will be ours." Mimic said.
"That's not happening." Rainbow Dash told her.
"Mimic, Evanesce, Kelly. Focus firing on the other Wing Feathers of Celestia and Luna. Leave the leader to me." Razor Whisk ordered and tailgated HandyFlash.
"Ain't this going to be fun." Evanesce smirked and fired directly at Rainbow Dash's plane.
HandyFlash looked behind him and saw Razor Whisk on his tail. In the background, he saw his team fighting Mimic, Kelly, Evanesce and the last of her Locusts. The annoying fly on his tail fired cannon rounds, but HandyFlash's shields deflected some rounds and hit Razor Whisk's plane.
"I think it's time to tear the feathers off those two princesses." Razor Whisk said.
"No. You will not." HandyFlash growled.
"Don't worry. I'll be sure my hooves will be gentle."
"Your hooves comes off." Ohhh…Burn.
Razor Whisk continued to chase him off and notices HandyFlash is about to go past Canterlot. Flash had a plan to get him off his tail and headed straight for one of the towers. He banked left like he was going on the left side. Razor Whisk banked left to ready himself to follow. But in a flash, HandyFlash banked right on went to the right side. Razor Whisk couldn't help but go to the left instead.
HandyFlash hit the breaks and pulled up to make a cobra maneuver to go even more slower and let Razor Whisk in the other side pass by. Everypony in Canterlot saw HandyFlash's maneuver and stared in amazement.
In a few seconds, HandyFlash got behind Razor Whisk and fired two missiles to double the damage. Target hit!
"You little dog." Razor Whisk growled in frustration.
"False. I'm not a dog. Here's your prize." HandyFlash fired his auto cannon and struck Razor Whisk with heavy damage.
Razor Whisk went by the Canterlot mountain and circled around the entire sides. He fired an unguided missile and struck the rocks hanging, which made a few fall down and hit HandyFlash's plane on the wing. It made him roll like a log going downhill
"Darn it!" HandyFlash balanced his aircraft and continued to stay on Razor Whisk's tail.
Razor Whisk and HandyFlash continued to fight, until they noticed Rainbow Dash pass by with Evanesce on her tail. Both fighters ignored eachother and continued their dogfight.
Rainbow Dash kept drifting and drifting like she was flying through Ghastly George before. Thanks to that, her reflexes have improved while she is in her aircraft.
"Feeling afraid, Rainbow Dash?" Evanesce smirked.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Not even close to getting nervous."
What Evanesce and Razor Whisk didn't know was they both were circling around the mountain for a trick. They passed by eachother once and stayed in an appropriate track. When they were about to pass a second time, HandyFlash locked on Evanesce behind Rainbow Dash's tail while Dash locked on Razor Whisk on HandyFlash's tail. Both fired a missile at the same time and struck their target. But only the shields. Still was a step ahead of getting them down once and for all. As soon as they got hit, HandyFlash had the chance to break right as Razor Whisk passed by him. Rainbow Dash had the same chance as well.
With the others, Fluttershy was dealing with Kelly while Thunderlane, Blossomforth, Derpy, Dumbbell, Flitter, and Cloudchaser dealt with the Evanesce's Locust drones. The drones seemed to improve more than they were when at Yamaretau Mountain in Changnia. Thunderlane kept passing by Canterlot, being careful not to hit and damage the buildings. Evading like a poor mouse being chased by a hawk, Thunderlane called in Flitter for help. Flitter provided some fire on the drone to get it's attention. It worked and made a turn for her. Such a bad mistake. Thunderlane was right there. He did an Immelman turn and fired his cannon directly on the drone and destroyed it. Cloudchaser assisted Flitter when two more Locust drones went behind her.
Fluttershy did all she can to keep her head in the dogfight. Her heart was racing as she kept an eye on Kelly's aircraft from the back. Kelly was using her afterburners to speed away from her, but Fluttershy did the same to not make her target get to far. She looked below at Canterlot and saw HandyFlash pass by pursuing Razor Whisk. Derpy was continuing to track down a Locust and kept her hooves steady on the trigger. Blossomforth did all she can to support her team by her electronic support. She was one of the key players in her team.
"Arion 7. Missile launched." Dumbbell called out for firing a missile at a Locust. He missed his target.
"7. Bandit coming at your six. Leave it to me." Thunderlane said.
Mimic was engaging them all at once. She just fired her cannons and missiles at one of them, but they successfully kept evading her attacks. A pretty good strategy if they were tailing one of the Locusts. Cloudchaser was getting annoyed, so she destroyed her target as fast as she can and aimed for Mimic's aircraft.
"You Wing Feathers are full of surprises." Mimic did swift evasive maneuvers that Cloudchaser has never seen.
"Being creative I see." Cloudchaser whispered.
Mimic kept moving around trying to get Cloudchaser off her tail. She thought it was going to be so well. Little did she know, Flitter went in her 12 o'clock when she wasn't drifting for a moment. Flitter hit her target by her cannons and swooped pass Cloudchaser in a close call.
Razor Whisk tailed HandyFlash as many cannon rounds were being fired by him. He didn't want to waste his holobattery for his missiles that much. HandyFlash was good at evading missiles just like his whole team. Remember to keep calm when evading your pursuer. Panicking can result a bigger chance to get you hit…or perhaps even crash. Depending how low is your altitude.
HandyFlash saw Derpy and Blossomforth being chased by a Locust drone. He noticed they were about to pass by Canterlot at the same time. This made him do the same as well. Blossomforth went in a higher altitude, while Derpy went in a lower altitude. Perfect. HandyFlash went in an appropriate space between their paths and got ready to do a trick he hopes to work. As Razor Whisk was still behind his back, he witnessed HandyFlash do a kulbit maneuver for this trick. He fired his cannon at the top where Blossomforth was and shredded the Locust behind her. His cannon was still firing and his nose was turned behind him and hit Razor Whisk head on. When his nose was now pointing downwards behind him, he fired a missile at Derpy's pursuer and shot it down. Razor Whisk passed by HandyFlash and was now the prey.
Everypony saw that move he pulled off. Twilight couldn't help but smile on how amazing that was. It was her first time to see an insane maneuver like that up closer. Shining Armor cheered along with Salin and the others. The pilots that were shot down stared at them and thought to themselves they can do that as well. They can, but you need to be more careful and think twice.
Scootaloo jumped out of her hiding spot and yelled out. "That was sooo AWESOME!"
"If you have the guts to do that." Sweetie Belle smirked.
"I want to do that! I want to do that! I want to do that!" Pinkie Pie jumped around.
"Those Arion Pilots are as good as they say." Queen Devsalis smiled. She wondered if her Air Force was finished, she would have aces like them.
"That's how Arion team does it. Watch and learn everypony." Neon Nimbus said on the comms.
Evanesce drifted right to attempt an escape from Rainbow Dash's chase. But Dash remained behind her and fired a missile, barely hitting her craft. HandyFlash flew by and fired his auto cannons at her engines, causing it to smoke up. On Evanesce's HUD, it alerted that her right engine was heavily damaged. Another hit there again will result her plane to go down.
Fluttershy saw Kelly pass by the towers trying to attempt to make her lose sight. She continued to follow no matter how risky her path was. In fact, Fluttershy ignored the feeling of it. She fired two missiles at Kelly, but saw that she pulled up roughly and saw the smoke trail pass by her without an explosion. Fluttershy knew she missed her target. So she tried again.
"Fox 2! Fox 2!" She fired a missile again. Kelly dropped flares, resulting a miss.
Now Fluttershy started to feel annoyed on this for the second time she flew. She boosted even more closer to Kelly's plane and fired her cannons. If Kelly attempted to do rough drifting for evading her, Fluttershy kept herself ready on the stick.
"Staying close to me I see." Kelly smirked and drifted right as hard as she can. Fluttershy continued to stay behind her.
"Yes, I am." Fluttershy kept her hooves ready on the stick.
Kelly pulled up and saw a Locust heading towards Fluttershy to attack. It launched a missile at her, which made Fluttershy have no choice but to disengage her. She saw Kelly still ascending and made a turn back to her as a drone remained behind her. Kelly turned as well and aimed her nose straight for Fluttershy's plane. But it looks like Fluttershy was more faster than her. She launched a missile head on and destroyed her plane's right wing and bottom. Evanesce saw Kelly get struck and witnessed her plane was on fire.
"Kelly! Bail out! Now!" Evanesce ordered.
Kelly followed her orders because she was desperate. She ejected out of her plane and saw it on fire as it crashed on the ground next to the hills.
"Behind you!" Mimic alerted Evanesce.
Rainbow Dash dived down towards her and fired one missile that struck her. She evaded by going in low altitude and pass by Canterlot in its port side then to the bottom pass. Evanesce attempted everything she could to evade Rainbow Dash, but nothing seemed to be working for her. Dash was known for her speed and agility by her wings. But it looks like it was known when she is on her plane as well. The rumors were no lie about the military or its foes.
Mimic decided to assist Evanesce but she was unable to because she kept passing by risky places to fly through. Mimic was pretty nervous to follow her and Rainbow Dash for what they were doing. One screw up can mean her crashing. She didn't want to go down just yet. But she still kept her distance from them.
Evanesce went back up in high altitude and saw Dash still behind her! She growled in annoyance and went next to the clouds. This was the time Mimic can follow her and defend. But at that time, Rainbow Dash launched a missile.
"Eat this!" Rainbow Dash launched a missile and headed towards her target.
"Look out!" Mimic arrived in time on the right behind Evanesce. She turned her plane left, which was a bad idea.
The missile that Dash launched didn't hit Evanesce. But Mimic. She shielded her plane to let Evanesce still up in the air. Mimic looked at her HUD and saw her plane was greatly damaged. It was now down to her one option.
"I'm out Evanesce. If you lose, be proud you fought with them." Mimic ejected as her plane went down and shredded some pieces in mid-air.
Razor Whisk gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to lose this fight!" He yelled.
HandyFlash felt a missile struck his plane, but saw that his shield covered him a bit. Now Evanesce with only about two of her Locusts and Razor Whisk were the only ones up in the air.
Evanesce was out of hope for winning this fight. But she just continued to fight because of Razor Whisk's orders. If she even attempts to retreat, Razor Whisk can shoot her down himself. She ordered her two remaining Locusts to engage the others while she assisted joint attack with Razor Whisk against HandyFlash. Rainbow Dash went to assist, but was stopped when Evanesce's Locust went to her. She evaded away from the three as her fellow squad mates helped her shoot down the Locust. Two against HandyFlash? This was getting risky.
"Why not just give up and don't listen to your so called boss?" HandyFlash asked Evanesce.
"As much as I want to, I can't." Evanesce said.
"Hmph. I knew you show mercy towards the enemy. You're sounding less valuable to be a mercenary." Razor Whisk growled.
Those words hurt Evanesce. It made her angry and crushed, but she held it in and continued to follow him. She saw HandyFlash going to pass by Canterlot and flew between two towers to make them split up. Evanesce took the right as Razor Whisk took the left. HandyFlash picked which side he'll do an Immelman turn and fire a missile at his target. He picked the right side, which was Evanesce.
He banked right and made a sharp Immelman turn and fired a missile at Evanesce's plane. It struck the spot right next to the cockpit. Evanesce got mildly hurt from that strike of his 'lightning'.
Razor Whisk looked at Evanesce's plane and ordered her to keep engaging.
"Don't just stand there and enjoy the humiliation! Shoot him back!" He yelled.
Evanesce's hooves shook on the stick of her plane. She didn't want to keep fighting and take any orders from him. She boosted her plane forward not towards HandyFlash, but Razor Whisk and fired a rain of cannon rounds at him. HandyFlash's eyes widened on what she was doing to Razor Whisk. Engaging the one that gives her orders.
"No. I'm done with you! All you want is power and others to fear you! I don't care about it anymore. I'm not letting you move forward!" Evanesce fired two more missiles and struck his plane.
"You wretched fool!" He was enraged.
HandyFlash went in as well and fired on him. "No. You're the fool. Thinking you can accomplish this plan against the one of the worlds greatest superpower."
Evanesce looked at her HUD and saw her plane was losing altitude and got ready to eject. She picked up the radio and said one last thing to HandyFlash.
"Colonel, I…good luck. Shoot him down. And live to tell your stories." Evanesce said.
HandyFlash smiled by her saying that. "Okay. And that's a promise like what I said to my team." He saw her eject safely as her plane went down. Then he focused his fire on Razor Whisk.
Razor Whisk covered his anger by laughing. "Why with the sudden betrayal Evanesce? The ones I hire never give up."
"Now you know how I felt about your friend Dimitri who was a spy all this time like Kira and Kelly." HandyFlash said.
Rainbow Dash contacted HandyFlash. "Sir, all Locust drones neutralized. We'll assist you any way we can."
"Roger. Focus on missile payloads. I'll tail Razor Whisk by myself." HandyFlash ordered.
"Roger that. You heard him! Fire missiles!" Rainbow Dash said.
HandyFlash continued to chase after Razor Whisk as he evaded swiftly without a problem. Rainbow Dash along with the others fired one missile at a time. Not all at once. If Razor Whisk was passing by Canterlot, they didn't fire because obviously they might hit Canterlot's buildings or palace.
"I will spare you if you stop this at once!" HandyFlash warned Razor Whisk.
"You really think I would listen to you? Don't make me laugh." Razor Whisk showed no mercy or thoughts for disengaging.
Neon Nimbus and the others in the palace continued to watch their fight. Shining Armor stayed close to Twilight and her friends for their safety. Seishin kept Arion squadron updated on their fight against Razor Whisk. All Canterlot citizens and guests looked at them fight like dragons on a duel. But it seemed more intense than they thought it would. It roared out the speed and weapons that could destroy.
Neon Nimbus looked at one of the workers in the palace and ordered one of them. "Dusk Shadow, what's the status on Arion squadron?"
Dusk Shadow looked at his small device that had a screen of Arion Squadron's planes. "Ma'am. Holobatteries on all their planes are average and they have light damage."
"Okay. Good. This dogfight might get more intense soon."
Razor Whisk barrel rolled as missiles passed right by him that barely hit him. Guns blazing behind him as HandyFlash got closer. It was a mistake. Razor Whisk copied his trick on how he shot down two drones before when he was above Canterlot. He did a kulbit maneuver and fired his cannons that hit HandyFlash, Flitter, and Thunderlane's plane. HandyFlash broke right as Razor Whisk went on his tail and fired all he got. HandyFlash could feel the vibration of rounds hitting his plane.
"He's on my tail." HandyFlash did evasive maneuvers he learned from training. Split S, Q Donut, Hammerhead, etc. Nothing worked on him just yet.
Missiles from Razor Whisk chased after him as he dropped flares and made tight turns. HandyFlash could feel the adrenaline rush and stress from his body. If he wasn't trained by his father and Neon Nimbus, he would've passed out in the middle of the dogfight. He got hit by one missile, but saw his plane was still able to stay up thanks to the trophy system.
"Colonel-?" Cloudchaser called.
"It's okay. I'm fine." HandyFlash answered.
"Just…just be careful. Okay?" Rainbow Dash said in a worried tone.
"I thought you had faith in your leader." HandyFlash smirked and pulled up.
Razor Whisk followed him as they ascended up more even above the clouds. HandyFlash had to trust his flares and trophy systems on his plane to hang on a bit longer. As soon as he reached a perfect altitude, he made his plane stall quickly and drop like a rock. Razor Whisk didn't see it coming. He felt a missile hit him just three seconds after HandyFlash stalled. He was now behind him. Rainbow Dash passed by for a cannon fire as Fluttershy followed her in. Thunderlane and Derpy continued their ascent as the others did as well.
They reached the altitude of 33,000 feet above Canterlot. Now there was nothing to go past by except the clouds. All in Canterlot looked up and saw only smoke trails and their planes that were a bit hard to see. When up there, you could see Cloudsdale in the distance.
"You fight very clean. I'll tell you that." Razor Whisk said.
"Whatever you say." HandyFlash moved into the clouds and pulled up instead of going out on the side of the cloud.
"You can't beat Arion Squadron." Blossomforth said.
HandyFlash saw Razor Whisk break left sharply to head towards Rainbow Dash and Derpy's planes. He went to his tail by a displacement roll.
"I don't think so." HandyFlash fired his cannons and struck the engines to smoke.
"Shoot." Razor Whisk cursed.
"Shoot indeed." HandyFlash fired two missiles and struck his plane in the left wing and engines again.
Razor Whisk's plane was now critically damaged. One more hit can have a chance to destroy his entire plane. He looked behind him and saw HandyFlash and his whole team behind him. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Thunderlane, Blossomforth, Deroy, Dumbbell, Flitter, and Cloudchaser fired their cannon rounds that set his engines on fire. HandyFlash fired a missile, that delivered the final blow. His missile struck his plane and exploded on impact. What was strange was, Razor Whisk's plane was messed up, but not destroyed.
"Looks like he's going down! We did it!" Fluttershy cheered.
"We did? Did we?!" Thunderlane asked.
"Don't mess with The Wing Feathers of Celestia and Luna!" Flitter laughed.
Razor Whisk in his plane looked down on his hooves that were shaking. It was a humiliating defeat. But, he smiled evilly and looked at his panel. There was a button that was red with a black bolt in the center. "I've been defeated." Razor Whisk was heard on the radio. "But…" He chuckled. "Not my plans."
Suddenly, Razor Whisk's aircraft begun to glow in a dark purple color on its wings and engines with a black aura surrounding it. Princess Celestia and everypony stared up at his plane in confusion. They thought it was just his plane breaking the sound barrier like every plane.
HandyFlash stared at his plane heading towards Canterlot as his heart started to beat in a fast pace like he ran a mile. Something in his brain was trying to tell him something. Something…horrifying. Razor Whisk's plane was glowing in some parts of dark purple with a black aurora surrounding it. There is no way that he could be breaking the sound barrier like that. In a few seconds, his body jerked like he got struck by lightning. He finally found what his mind was trying to tell him. He followed Razor Whisk's plane and began to fire his cannons at it.
"Colonel? What are you doing?!" Thunderlane asked. He was just looking at HandyFlash's plane opening fire on Razor Whisk's plane.
"His Plane! Shoot it down!" HandyFlash yelled.
Neon Nimbus picked up the radio as everypony stared at her. "Wait, what's going on?"
"Yeah? What gives?" Seishin raised her eyebrow.
"His plane! IT'S THE SUNSPOT WEAPON!"
That answer…just struck everypony. Celestia couldn't move. Just like Cadance, Devsalis, and Luna. Twilight rushed out the balcony and saw Razor Whisk's plane approaching Canterlot straight above them. Approximately around 27,000 feet.
Rainbow Dash looked down at HandyFlash firing on Razor Whisk's plane…no, The Sunspot Weapon. She reacted by following his lead. Fluttershy did the same as well. Thunderlane, Blossomforth, Derpy, Dumbbell, Flitter, Cloudchaser all went in to assist joint attack. The real challenge was now beginning for them.
"It's now or never! Destroy that thing!" Neon Nimbus yelled.
Everypony in Canterlot began to panic and tried to find a place they assume is safe to take cover in. The comms were on in the palace and the entire place. So they heard them. All the pilots tried to assist the innocents as well.
Shining Armor went to Twilight and carried her back inside. Princess Cadance followed them as everyone on the balcony got inside. Celestia and Luna kept embracing eachother, knowing this might be the end. Spike hugged Twilight and Rarity along with Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. They shut their eyes getting ready for the worst to happen any moment.
"I-if I don't make it…" Spike said.
"No! Don't say that! You'll be fine!" Twilight hugged more tightly.
Shining Armor looked at his buddies and saluted. Saying it was an honor serving with them. He looked at Cadance and kissed her.
"I love you." Shining Armor said to his wife.
"I will forever too." Cadance hugged him.
This. Can't. Happen.
HandyFlash and his team tried their hardest to destroy Razor Whisk's plane, but the aura seemed to be a shield as well. This was a crisis situation. If they don't destroy the sunspot weapon, it will destroy Celestia and Luna or perhaps shred Canterlot and the others. Neon Nimbus looked outside and saw them engaging the sunspot weapon closing in.
"Guys…wh-…what are you doing?" She asked with a choked voice.
"Doing what needs to be done." Rainbow Dash answered.
"I…I can't risk you nine to be-"
"If we don't stop it, we will lose all of you!" HandyFlash said.
Everypony could still hear their conversation. They all hoped for Arion squadron.
"It's just-"
"General. Listen. It's why you sent us here. Plus what you trained us for. We protect the lives in Equestria even if it kills us." HandyFlash told her.
"Estimated impact of the weapon is 26 seconds." Seishin warned.
Neon Nimbus dropped tears by what HandyFlash was saying. They had the guts to take down this weapon even if it will take them with it. She remembered training HandyFlash with Handel and Florence. He was innocent and kind to her from the start. That memory might be the only thing to remember him by.
"Arions." She smiled. "We owe you everything. Thank you. It was an honor." She saluted.
"It was worth it, General." HandyFlash hung up.
All nine of the Arion members fired everything they got. Missiles, their special weapons, and cannons all at once. Making their holobatteries active until it runs out of juice. This is what they had to do. This is what they were trained for. This is either do or die. HandyFlash breathed in one last time just like everyone in his team. It was either they survive or don't. One last breath of life until they move on to the next.
A final missile struck Razor Whisk's plane rigged with the Sunspot Weapon. Next thing you know to see was this. A blue light appeared, then a huge black colored explosion showed seven times its size of the blue orb. Purple lightning struck everywhere as clouds nearby just got forcefully pushed away by the explosion. Everyone on Canterlot was affected. All unicorns felt their horns get shocked and collapse very weak on the floor. Celestia and Luna were one of them. Pegasi and Earth Ponies ears rung and forcefully push them down to the floor. The affects of the blast far above the skies could harm them. Imagine if the Sunspot Weapon actually hit Canterlot. The results would be even more fatal. Canterlot had no fatalities, but a few not too seriously injured.
Neon Nimbus slowly opened her eyes and saw Seishin's hologram was blinking from the blast. As for the others, she saw them move slowly, groaning from the painful affects. Twilight got up as well with her friends with Spike on her back, who was weak because he was a baby dragon.
Shining Armor looked around and saw everyone getting up. Thank goodness they were all okay. Salin helped Orela up as Cora assisted Devsalis. They all went out in the balcony and noticed below them every pony who were in the palace and barracks got out. All of them looked up at the black and purple aura in the sky. Most of them scanned the entire sky to look for Arion Squadron.
But…they were not seen.
Neon Nimbus picked up her radio and saw it was still able to work. Seishin helped her out by getting a wider range connection. Everypony looked at her from the ground and in the balcony. Twilight and the rest hoped for the best.
"General Neon Nimbus to Arion Squadron. Is anybody there?" She called.
No response.
HandyFlash's mother, Florence, hugged Summer Light and Night Glare, who were tearing up about their older brother. Handel held on to his wife's hoof as he prayed for the best.
"Colonel HandyFlash? Do you copy? Please respond." Neon Nimbus began to shake. "Lieutenant Colonel Rainbow Dash? Major Fluttershy?"
Twilight began to tear up and began to hug Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity who were dropping tears as well. Their friends might have been gone. Shining Armor began to shake by the horrifying memories when he was at the Changnian War. He lost a lot of ponies and changelings he knew. Now he lost HandyFlash and the others.
"Are you still there?" Seishin called in as well. She was worried as well.
"Please respond. We're all waiting for you. Arion Squadron? The Wing Feathers of Celestia and Luna? Pick up…" Neon Nimbus was close to breaking down. Everypony was starting to go down. The talking and praying for Arion Squadron was all over the air.
Suddenly, a roar of planes were heard. This made everypony look around the sky. Hoping it wasn't another attack. They wondered what was that roaring. But their question was answered. Around the black and purple aura, nine planes came out flying through. Neon Nimbus stared at the nine planes and saw the emblem of a vortex with stars around it, the sun and moon on top, and a pegasi head and wings in the middle. That emblem belonged to none other than Arion Squadron.
"This is Arion Leader. You called us over, General?" The voice of HandyFlash was heard. Weak, but it was legitimately his voice.
At this moment, Everypony cheered and stomped on the ground or clapped in the air. Shining Armor looked at his buddies and cheered out loud. Yelling out "HOOFA!".
"Looks like they were actually waiting for us. Huh?" Rainbow Dash was heard.
"Th-They sure were." Fluttershy said.
"I hoped to the best anyway." Thunderlane chuckled.
"General…we're going to land. Fuel is low and our planes are damaged." HandyFlash told her.
"Roger that." Neon Nimbus said. "Welcome back."
As Arion Squadron turned towards the runway, they saw everypony waiting for them in the side of the runway. They all tried to be steady on their landing. But it looks like they pulled off okay. The nine of them parked their planes and sat there for a few seconds. They took off their pilot half masks and seat belts and opened their cockpit lid. The sound of cheering was heard by all the ponies. They all got off their planes stood there and bowed their heads. HandyFlash, he was walking like he was given laughing gas, but he was weak. He trembled a bit and had a face like he was sick.
Princess Celestia and Luna along with Twilight, Shining Armor and the rest walked up to them. Some others as well.
"That was some crazy moves up there!"
"Are you all okay?" Neon Nimbus asked.
"Yeah. I think we're fine." Rainbow Dash answered.
"You all did a splendid job! Don't you agree Big Mac?" Applejack asked her older brother.
"Eeyup." Big Macintosh answered. I bet you thought of his voice saying it.
HandyFlash began to tremble more and lose balance. "Yeah…we…sure did…" At that moment, HandyFlash fell on the ground.
"HandyFlash!" Twilight ran to him and checked on him.
Shining Armor went in as well. "Starline! Medic!" He called his medic from the was from the war. She knew how to fix up downed fighters.
"What's going on with him?!" Rainbow Dash shook his body.
"Easy! Easy! Let me handle it." Starline said as Shining Armor helped out.
"Big Brother!" A young female voice called. Summer Light and Night Glare came out and went next to HandyFlash. His mouth was now covered with a breathing mask by Starline. She mentioned his pulse was normal, but it was starting to get worse.
Neon Nimbus stood frozen in fear. Something was wrong with HandyFlash. Celestia and Luna covered their mouths in shock about what was happening. Handel and Florence watched their son being treated as their two young daughters tried to wake up their older brother.
"Everyone! Move! We need to get him out of here!" Shining Armor called in Salin and the others.
Rainbow Dash held onto her head like she was panicking. "No no no! This can't be happening! This has got to be a dream. Right?"
Fluttershy shook her head and looked at HandyFlash being carried away. "Rainbow Dash…I…we should all just…"
"How can I calm down?!" Rainbow Dash yelled out loud.
Neon Nimbus and Twilight couldn't help but follow them. Who knows what can be wrong with him. The others all followed them as all the other guests stood outside wondering what was going on.
Inside the palace, HandyFlash was being treated in another room inside for the ones who had medical experiences can help him. Princess Celestia and Luna along with the others waited in the throne room. All of them, worried. They were all waiting for the news from Shining Armor and the others for what is going on with HandyFlash. He was weak after the entire battle above Canterlot. All of HandyFlash's team members were flying around slowly in circles. HandyFlash's parents tried their best to stay calm as well as calming their two daughters.
Suddenly, the door where HandyFlash was in opened. Shining Armor came outside as everyone immediately went in a circle around him. He looked at all of them and gave a serious look. It didn't look like a good sign.
"What's wrong with HandyFlash?" Florence asked.
"Is he going to be okay?" Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy asked at the same time.
"What's new on him?" Thunderlane asked about what recently happened while he was in there.
Shining Armor cleared his throat. "HandyFlash is suffering from the radiation of the Sunspot Weapon when he and his team destroyed it. The reason why it was only him who suffered more is this. He was the only one with a horn up there. Since he was a winged unicorn by birth, he still has the horn of a unicorn. If you're a unicorn, remember when your horn felt very painful and gave you a headache?"
Twilight, Rarity, Celestia, Luna, Devsalis, Cadance, Night Glare and Handel nodded.
"We were pretty covered by Canterlot and far from it thanks to them. That's why we had the weak affects. HandyFlash, he was more closer to the blast. That's when the radiation went through his body. He also got a few new scars as well." Shining Armor added.
Rainbow Dash shivered by that. She remembered when she bullied him back at foal flight school, she was responsible for giving him scars from a prank that got too far. Fluttershy and Derpy remembered as well. Thunderlane heard about too.
"But, how is he though? Will he recover?" Neon Nimbus asked.
"He will. Right?" Luna asked as well.
Shining Armor looked down for a few seconds, then back up. "I don't know how to tell you all. But by his body, we have to wait if he wakes up. If he wakes up, he'll be fine. But the scariest part is…"
Silence.
"There is a 45 out of 100% chance that he might make it." Shining Armor said.
45% chance for HandyFlash to make it alive. That was shocking to hear.
-(TO BE CONTINUED)-
Sorry if the dogfight seemed pretty short. And yet again…SORRY for the cliffhanger. Also, NEXT CHAPTER is the LAST ONE!
At JaceKnife7- I only put in a minor appearance for him if that's okay. Because you submitted after Ch.25, where every pilot was fighting till they got shot down.
Known OCs= (Owner) OC Name.
X= Task Force X Member.
*= New Submitted OC.
(My own OCs) HandyFlash, Razor Whisk, Evanesce, Cora, Cloak and Cross Heart, Queen Devsalis, Salin, Orela, Starline, Sparky, Arrow Eye, Red Mark, Infrared, Diamond Hoof, Steel Hammer
X (*Name Changed* Starrdust Shine) Cloud Dash
X (TheSadisticRedWarrior) Swift Night
(cast49) Shining Dawn
(Anon: Echo Hart) Echo Hart *Possibly not in story anymore. Ignore the brother and sister thing with Fluttershy and him. Sorry*
X (Brigadier Wolffe)
l Lancaster: Chosen Leader of a squadron.
I
I Hawk: Squad Member for Lancaster.
I
I Ace: Squad Member for Lancaster.
I
I Spectrum: Squad Member for Lancaster.
I
I Darkstar: Squad Member for Lancaster.
I
I_Hardcase and Boomer
(Dragon Roberts) FireBlaze
(SpartanBrony) Unknown
(blaurgh) Firebolt
(piplump) Eclipse Moon
(ChaosBurner) Meteor
(Kimba's Bro) Ash
(Delta the Dragon) Captain Delta
X (Kirlia481) Dimitri, Daniel, Kira, Kelly, / Mimic *Chesnikov, *Ossa
X (My Minor OC) Bombshell
(GhostShadow6661) Lightning Striker
(Rainbow Lily) Lily Shadow
(ISA-Sniper) Thunder Rain and Gentlestep
(Dragon'z Wrath) Night Wing
(iloverainbowdashie) Soaring Skies
(Anon: Thunderdrop) Thunderdrop
(Deathnote9847) Lighteyes
(Pika53) Zander
(Anon: Mr. Williams) Nightshade Smoke
(Anon: Rndom Hooves) Random Hooves
(Anon: Lyric Breeze) Lyric Breeze
(The Doctor-Derpy) Comet Streak and Daisy (Not the one in the show.)
(Anon: Maleun Kangaj) Vampiric Heavens and Angelic Heavens
(CaptHyatt) Aero Vought Corsair
X (emerald night the alicorn) Emerald Night and Rachel Blur
(alfa68048) Rainrunner
(PonySpin) Dust Storm and Dusk Blade
*(Anon: JaceKnife7) Dusk Shadow
*Review chapter and Optional: Answer these*
(Question of the Wings: "The Sunspot Weapon was Razor Whisk's plane all along. It wasn't the missile that was fired from The Crystal Empire. Would you call that a good trick?" Neon Nimbus asked you.)
(Question of the Chapter: "Would you be worried about HandyFlash after the entire fight?" Shining Armor asked you.)