The sun rises up to show another new day like everyday. Maybe that was a bit weird to say. But the hoof with it. Luna's shift was already over as she went back inside to let Celestia know if she remembers what she has to do today. Equestria was still a bit chilly from the night when the moon was shining. But luckily it didn't rain or snow. Because some Task Force X pilots slept outside on the clouds. Crazy pilot elites love doing dangerous stunts just like you and your young days huh?

Princess Luna went to her sister right after she finished rising the sun. They both smiled and hugged. Every time they hugged, it reminded them about them reuniting again when Luna was Nightmare Moon. But Luna said that was just the past. It's all over now.

Luna broke the hug and smiled. "Do you remember what today is?" She asked her older sister.

Celestia gave a nod. "Yes. We're heading to Saddle-Arabia for a meeting." She answered. Luna nodded and walked to the airfield to require a possible transport.

"Sister? Make sure to get your stuff ready. Okay?" Celestia reminded her.

"I shall." Luna said and walked out.

Luna walked outside and felt the sun shining. The night was chilly and gloomy, but she was used to it. She loved the sun as well because it made her feel…new. Canterlot ponies greeted her as little fillies or colts waved 'Hello' cutely. She sure changed ever since the incident from Nightmare Night. Though she still is the nervous and playful one. She continued walking to the Task Force X airbase and noticed a few clouds very low. She could tell that possibly Arion Squadron was sleeping on one of the clouds. She first saw their General, Neon Nimbus, walk out of the hangar with a cup of hot coco on her wing. Luna walked to her and greeted her.

"A good morning to you, General." Luna smiled as Neon Nimbus sipped her coco.

Neon Nimbus laughed. "Yes. Good morning to you as well, your highness." She bowed her head.

Luna looked at the clouds and saw some members of Arion squadron on each cloud. "I see your Wing Feathers are asleep. Are they not?" She smirked.

"They just had a long day, Princess. Rest is the best medicine after a tough mission." Neon Nimbus said.

"Beyond true." She chuckled. "Anyway, do you have any transport for me and my sister to go to Saddle-Arabia for a meeting? I thought we might use something a bit comfortable than a carriage." Luna asked. Neon Nimbus thought about it. She smiled.

"I think it's a good time to use the aircraft that HandyFlash's father just finished a few days ago." She said.

Luna raised her eyebrow. "Which aircraft? The AWACS?" She guessed.

"No. It's the AAC-113 Albatross. Can you take a guess on what it means, Princess Luna?" Neon Nimbus challenged her to answer.

Princess Luna tilted her head to think. "Uh…Anti-Air…Conditioner?" Luna guessed. Her answer caused Neon Nimbus to laugh out loud. Luna looked down in embarrassment and smiled. "What does it mean then?"

Neon Nimbus caught her breath and breathed out. "Aerial Aircraft Carrier Type 113 Albatross. It's the size of a hoofball field and you can land your aircraft on it. It's insane I tell you. There is a briefing room and some rooms to sleep in." She told Luna about the insane project.

Luna's mouth was agape by the thought of using that aircraft to Saddle-Arabia. "Was that even possible to make?" She asked.

"For the project makers, yes. HandyFlash's parents sure are full of ideas." Neon Nimbus looked at the cloud HandyFlash was on.

"They are inventors like their son. And his two little sisters." Luna smiled, mentioning about HandyFlash's parents and his two little sisters.

Rainbow Dash started to open her eyes slowly by the suns glare on her face. She stretched her forelegs, hind legs, then her wings. She looked around and noticed she wasn't the only one who was sleeping on a cloud. She saw HandyFlash still asleep with his mane covering his eyes, Fluttershy asleep peacefully, Derpy asleep while chewing on her tail; which she thought was food, and she also noticed Thunderlane and Blossomforth sharing a cloud. Wait a second. How did that even happen? Sleep flflying? Looks like it.

HandyFlash was the second one to wake up. Then the rest woke up, yawning and stretching.

Thunderlane and Blossomforth slowly opened their eyes at the same time and realized they were asleep on the same cloud. They both got up and kept their distance in shock.

"What were you doing on my cloud?" Thunderlane asked in shock.

"No. What were YOU doing on my cloud?" Blossomforth asked the same question.

HandyFlash laughed. "Probably one of you had a little sleep walk." He smirked. "Or purposely went to eachother." He grinned.

"Oh puhlease..." Blossomforth blushed.

Neon Nimbus looked at the clouds and saw all nine members were awake. She called them over. "Arions. Down here, please." She ordered.

The nine pilots went down and landed right next to her and Luna. They saluted and bowed because Luna was there. "Is there something you need?" HandyFlash asked.

"I've been wanting to show you flyers something. Flash, I'm sure you know all your father's jet projects, but not this one I suppose." Neon Nimbus said and led the way to a tunnel. Luna and the nine Arion squad members followed.

Luna looked around the cave. It was decorated for the E.R.A.F. There was only one huge door at the end of this cave. She noticed there was a bio scanner for authorized personnel only. Neon Nimbus placed her hoof on it which took about 5 seconds to finish to let the door open. They all went inside. It was dark. Completely way beyond dark. Neon Nimbus turned on the light switch which made bright glares of light. When everything was visible, they all noticed one aircraft first. It was huge. It looked half way the size of Ponyville. There was a small runway for aircraft, five engines, and some rooms inside. Rainbow Dash was out minded. All she imagined was how was this built. Same question was for the rest except Neon Nimbus.

"This is the AAC-113 Albatross. It is meant for an operation to repair or rearm when the location you are at doesn't have a ground runway. What's inside is a briefing room and some rooms to sleep in. Also, the piloting in this bad colt is automatic. It's pretty smart." Neon Nimbus looked at Luna. "How's this for a transport to Saddle-Arabia? We can land this thing on land or at sea." She smirked.

Luna nodded. "Yes of course. Thank you." She said.

"You should call your sister. I'll start the Aerial Carrier."

Luna walked out of the cave to tell her sister that they had a different ride to Saddle-Arabia. Leaving only the aces just looking at the Aerial Carrier. Neon Nimbus started to chuckle.

"You aces are scanning into that, huh?" She joked.

"We just never seen this before." Dumbbell said.

"How was this built anyway?" Flitter asked.

Neon Nimbus shrugged. "I don't know. Ask your squad leader's father."

HandyFlash rolled his eyes. "Well, I didn't know about this."

They all waited for Luna and Celestia to arrive. But it seemed to take quite a while. Rainbow Dash groaned and went inside the AAC-113 to find a room to lay down in. Thunderlane knew that she would be the first one to get bored. Neon Nimbus decided to just lay down on the bench. HandyFlash played with marbles with Cloudchaser and Flitter just because they were bored. They all patiently waited because the two princess sisters can be busy most of the time.

After a long 20 minutes, they finally heard some hoofsteps coming from the entrance. Rainbow Dash walked out of the plane at the right time and saw the shadows. She flew to the entrance and saw not only Celestia and Luna, but Twilight with the rest and Shining Armor. Rainbow Dash looked at them.

"You all are coming to?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Shining Armor was the first to respond. "Well, Princess Celestia and Luna needed a personal guard. So I volunteered." He said.

"Plus you were a hero in the First-Changeling Civil War long time ago." Twilight added. Shining Armor chuckled.

Celestia nodded. "We both thought we bring them because they want to help us." She told her.

"Yeah. It's going to be so much fun!" Pinkie Pie jumped around.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Okay then." She called Neon Nimbus when she came out. "Neon Nimbus. I'll set up my aircraft on this huge bird. I'll be right back." She told her.

HandyFlash followed as the others did. "Yeah. I'll set up mine to." He followed.

"Don't forget to wear your Air Force Service Dress." Neon Nimbus reminded all of them. She looked at the group and told them to go in the AAC-113 to make themselves at home as Arion squadron was setting up. HandyFlash went to his locker to get his uniform before he could set up his aircraft on the AAC-113.

Rarity got on board and picked a room to rest in. She chose the most styled one and jumped on the bed. Applejack saw her and cleared her throat.

"Yah sure are one picky one, eh Rarity?" Applejack smirked.

"A lady deserves a comfortable and better looking room to rest her hooves on." Rarity said and put on her slippers she got.

"Oh you." Applejack rolled her eyes and unpacked her stuff in the other room.

-(Saddle-Arabia's Capital City)-

The sun rays in this desert capital of Saddle-Arabia was more stronger than Equestria's. Hot sand made the place look even more dryer, but it's a good thing the city was near a beach of bright to dark blue water. The capital seemed more modern. Tall buildings, statues, valuable mineral made structures, and high class houses and hotels. It would be a pretty good place to visit for a vacation don't you think?

At a far distance, the E.R.A.F Aerial Aircraft Carrier was seen hovering above the ocean water. It wasn't moving or anything. It was on hover mode. A carriage was seen coming out of the flight deck and heading to the capital. On board was the whole gang. Princess Celestia and Luna wore their usual looks, Arion Squadron wore their Air Force service dresses, Shining Armor was wearing his usual Canterlot guard armor, and Twilight and the rest were wearing some exotic hoods to protect them from the strong hot sun rays. Thank you Rarity.

Saddle-Arabian ponies saw the carriage and knew it was the Princesses of Equestria because of the flag on the carriage. Rarity looked down and saw that the outfits the Arabic ponies wore very stylish clothings as some had hoods. By the look of her face, you can tell she couldn't wait to shop around the capital.

Pinkie Pie and HandyFlash ate some snacks that they bought for the trip. Since they were at Saddle-Arabia, Pinkie surprisingly brung some packed almonds called 'Great Desert Almonds'. A Saddle-Arabian favorite for on the go snacks. Pinkie ate 3 packs already as HandyFlash only ate 2 packs.

Applejack looked at the two hungry ponies. "Ya'll sure are hungry." She commented.

Pinkie talked with her mouth full. "What? They're good." She said.

Rarity looked at her. "Be careful. Nuts can be bad for your teeth." She warned Pinkie.

"What? No they're not." Twilight said.

"You mean, No they're NUT." HandyFlash corrected.

Shining Armor heard the pun and laughed about the terrible sound of it. "Wow. That was terrible." He said.

"Thank you. You know the thing about these Great Desert Almonds?" HandyFlash asked.

"What?" Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.

"They're Great." HandyFlash answered with a smirk.

"Oh shut it." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Pinkie Pie finished hers and tried to throw it at the trash can on the carriage, but the wind made it miss the shot.

"Wow. That was NUT a good shot." HandyFlash smirked.

Pinkie Pie laughed at HandyFlash's pun. "NUT a bad pun there, Flash." She said.

Rainbow Dash covered her ears. "The puns and jokes are burning my ears." She whined.

"Oh, yer whining like Rarity now." Applejack chuckled.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not a good whine."

"It's not Rarity (very) bad." HandyFlash joked again.

Rarity looked away and spat her tongue. "Pfft. You and your jokes." She smiled.

"And your puns." Rainbow Dash added.

"They're fun to say, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked. Both stared at her with no response.

Princess Celestia looked back and told them to get ready to land. The two pegasus guards from the front started slowly descending and reduce speed. The more they got lower, they could feel the hot sand. Not really a good thing to feel, but it didn't really bother them. They looked around and saw Saddle-Arabian guards around the tallest building in the capital. Luna told them that was their destination. The two sisters led the way as Arion Squadron, Twilight and the rest with Shining Armor followed. Celestia looked around and remembered the last time she went here. Rarity's eyes were half closed by the bright light of the sun reflecting from the ground. She started…oh boy…complaining.

"Ugh. The sun will give me sun burn if I stay out here for a long time." Rarity said.

"Did you bring any sunblock?" HandyFlash asked.

Rarity face hoofed. "I forgot it at my shop." She realized.

A Saddle-Arabian stallion guard went up to Rarity and offered her a small tube of sunblock. "Here you go, miss." He said with his strong Arabic accent.

"Oh thank you so much." Rarity thanked. The guard nodded and went back to his guarding spot.

Princess Celestia went in the entrance as the guards let them all through. The look inside the tallest building of Saddle-Arabia's capital was just breath taking. Gold and diamond chandeliers were hanging, granite floors and walls, artwork was hanging, and everything styled as fancy. Rarity was about to faint. This looked even more fancier than Canterlot. HandyFlash stared at everything in the room. His mom went to Saddle-Arabia, but he never expected it to be this much stunning. Twilight wished she lived here as well. As well there was a library in the building.

A white coated and blonde maned mare in an exotic dress headed to the group. She smiled in a welcomed way and looked at Princess Celestia and Luna. "Hello. You must be the two princesses of Equestria." She bowed. "Welcome to the Burj Khoofa."

"Yes. That's us. We were called for a meeting." Celestia said.

"Ah yes. Follow me." The mare led the way as the others followed. "Oh yes. My name is Basinah." She introduced herself. All the others introduced themselves as well. Basinah seemed surprised about the group because they were the ones Celestia and Luna trusted.

They walked to a steam powered elevator and reached the top floor. Fluttershy looked out the window and squeaked in fear by the height. It was pretty high. The reason why she reacted by looking out the window is because she's never seen this much exposed sight unlike in a jet, it covers half of the sight. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Fluttershy. You flew on your aircraft. Just think of it like you're in it." Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm herself down.

Derpy looked out the window in amazement. "Wow. What a view." She commented.

HandyFlash looked out the window as well. "Yeah. Wait till we hit the jets again. And maybe in the future, we can all see fireworks from the view." He said.

Neon Nimbus joined in as well. "That would be pretty awesome. Just don't fly into the fireworks." She playfully hoof punched HandyFlash's wing.

"Whatever you say, boss." HandyFlash laughed.

"I could tell nothing bad is in the airspace." Dumbell said.

"Yup. Seems like it."

As they were watching the view, Basinah went to a door that had two guards guarding it. One of the guards looked at Basinah.

"كلمة السر؟" The guard asked for a password.

"الشفق الحياة" Basinah said the password.

The two guards opened the door; which revealed an office that had a shiny floor and walls of granite. The windows made the place look like a good observation deck. Sitting on the table were Sir Al Khoofa, manager of the building. And two ambassadors of Saddle-Arabia.

Princess Celestia went forward and bowed her head a bit. "Hello. It's good to see you all again." She smiled.

"Princess Celestia. It's good to see the ruler of Equestria. And your sister, Princess Luna as well." Al Khoofa bowed. "You may have a seat. All of you." He welcomed them. The whole group went to one seat and sat all down quietly and patient. Is this the first time Pinkie Pie has been patient and quiet at some meeting?

Al Khoofa looked at HandyFlash and his squadron. He noticed HandyFlash had a Colonel sign on his service dress, a Lt. Colonel sign on Rainbow Dash, a Major sign on Fluttershy, a Captain sign on Thunderlane and Blossomforth, a 2nd Lieutenant sign on Dumbell, and 1st Lieutenant signs on Derpy, Flitter, and Cloudchaser.

Al Khoofa looked at Princess Celestia and smiled. "I see you bought some members of the newly created Equestrian Royal Air Force."

Celestia nodded. "Yes. They wanted to help out as well. Plus they are in an elite Air Force unit called the Task Force X." She told him and looked at Neon Nimbus. Al Khoofa looked at her as well.

"So you're the leader of the Air Force I should say." Al Khoofa asked.

Neon Nimbus nodded. "Yes." She said.

Al Khoofa cleared his throat and continued. "Alright." Al Khoofa looked at the two sisters. "Why I bought you here is that may I request you to put an E.R.A.F base at our capital? We heard you have a very affective air force by pilots using jet aircraft." He said.

One of the ambassadors spoke. "Yes. Your country, Princess Celestia and Luna is the most powerful one in this world. It's up to you."

Princess Celestia smiled. "Of course. Saddle-Arabia is one of the Equestrian allies, is it not?" She smirked.

The second ambassador…derped. "That is a good point.

Fluttershy sat there just minding her own business as the meeting was going by. In the corner of her eye, she saw an unidentified flying object up on the clouds. She turned her head and stared at the unknown object. She was the only one to see it first. She continued to try to examine it, but she noticed another one was seen. Fluttershy began to think about what was going on up there. Then yet again, more began being visible. She grew even more nervous every time she sees another one.

Cloudchaser, who was right next to Fluttershy, looked at her. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"L-Look up there." Fluttershy said silently and pointed her hoof at the spots where the unknown objects were.

Cloudchaser tried scanning on what were those things. But won't be long now. Those things started to come in closer. It got out of the clouds and flew in at high speed. Cloudchaser's eyes shot open and got up. "EVERYPONY GET DOWN!" She yelled.

Everyone in the room including the guards got down immediately. The flying objects got closer and revealed to be drones from Razor Whisk. The drones opened fire and broke one tall window while leaving two just with a few holes. The drones broke right and aimed for another target. The building shook by the vibration and roar from the drones.

HandyFlash got up and looked around while holding his jaw. "Is everypony alright?!" He asked.

"We're good!" The guards said.

"I-I'm o-okay..." Fluttershy said while still under the desk covering her eyes.

"Al Khoofa. Are you okay?" Basinah looked at him. Al Khoofa got up slowly while his hoof was covering the base of his foreleg. Basinah immediately went to him and looked at the spot where he was covering. A glowing blue circle was on it. "Sir! You got hit!" She said.

"I'll be fine. What about everyone else?" Al Khoofa asked.

"You weren't the only one to get hit." HandyFlash said and showed a glowing blue mark on his jaw. Shining Armor showed his which was on his foreleg as well.

Twilight headed to the two of them. "Are you both okay?!" She asked.

"We're fine. Plus it's kind of our fault to be near the window." Shining Armor looked away with a silly grin.

Princess Celestia looked around the place. She saw that everyone else was still in one peace. Princess Luna was still okay as well. Al Khoofa, HandyFlash, and Shining Armor were the only ones that got hit, but still in the game. "Where did the drones come from?" She asked.

HandyFlash looked at Dumbell. "What?! Dumbell! I thought you said the airspace was clear!" HandyFlash looked at him.

"Since when did you start listening to me?!" Dumbell still panicked.

Pinkie Pie went to the mildly broken window and looked outside at the high sight. She saw drones swarming around the capital; destroying radar dishes and any communication to let Saddle-Arabia call back up. She sighed in relief when she noticed that the drones were not aiming at the civilians. "Well. Least they're not harming other ponies." She said to herself.

A guard breached the room and went to Al Khoofa. "Mr. Khoofa. I can't call for help! Those air devils destroyed most of the radars in the capital!" The guard told him.

"تبادل لاطلاق النار! Okay. Get all the citizens in the emergency tunnels! Tell any guard or patrol you see and tell the ponies in the capital." Al Khoofa ordered his guard.

The guard nodded. "نعم يا سيدي." Then the guard ran to the elevator to warn the others and the innocent.

One of the ambassadors looked out the window. "What are we going to do? We can't just watch our capital be destroyed into a ruin!"

"I don't know if we still have hope." The other ambassador frowned.

"Lets all remain calm and focus on ourselves." Basinah said the right thing as they all tried calming down.

Al Khoofa looked at them. "We need to go to the safe room. It's in the same floor, but it's capable of protecting us." He said. "Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. Bring your others as well." He said.

"I'll keep an eye out. That safe room I bet has a strict security system." Shining Armor said. Al Khoofa nodded and ran to the safe room to bypass in.

Twilight looked at her brother and frowned. "What do we do? Can't we do something?" She asked.

Shining Armor hugged his little sister. "We can't. If I conjure a shield around the capital, it can only cover half the city." He told her.

"We should've called an emergency E.R.A.F team." Twilight looked down.

Neon Nimbus sighed. "I know." She looked at her watch; which had a radar, and saw numerous red dots that were resembling the drones. There was a lot. "Oh nuggets. I track more than 70 drones out there heading to the capital." She warned them.

HandyFlash began to think about a plan. Even though Saddle-Arabian ponies were in panic. He hoped it can buy some time to defend the very important ones. His squad looked at him, who were hoping he can do something. He nodded and looked at Princess Celestia. "Princess Celestia. We'll deal with this." He said.

Neon Nimbus noticed what he said and suspiciously raised her eyebrow. "What are you saying, Colonel?" She asked.

"Send me and my squadron in the air. We'll defend the capital and Burj Khoofa." HandyFlash answered.

Fluttershy looked at HandyFlash. "No. You're not flying and defending the capital in your condition." She said.

"This shot on my jaw doesn't mean anything. I'm going out there." HandyFlash said. Fluttershy had no choice but to let it go.

Neon Nimbus looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you nuts? You're talking about 50+ drones in the air against the nine of you! There's no chance to become a hero today, Arions." She didn't want them to do some dangerous 'I am a hero' stunt.

Rainbow Dash joined in on HandyFlash's side. "Neon Nimbus. I'm gonna have to agree with him. If we're not in the air defending the capital, then what will happen?" She questioned her.

Neon Nimbus stayed silent. She looked at the rest on Arion Squadron and saw that they all got next to each other and readied their wings, showing that they all volunteer to defend the capital and of course the leaders, and Princesses Celestia and Luna along with Al Khoofa and the two ambassadors. She didn't have a choice. Either the possible fate of them or the capital destroyed along with Princess Celestia and Luna. She smiled lightly; proud of their bravery.

"Very well." Neon Nimbus accepted. "Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Shining Armor. Protect the Princesses, Al Khoofa, and the ambassadors." She gave a bracelet with a speaker. "Use this to give me or them contact."

"Thanks Neon." Twilight said.

Before HandyFlash and his squadron could leave, Princess Celestia stopped them. "Wait." Celestia stopped them. "It's really brave of you to act on this alone. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" She asked to make sure they weren't crazy.

HandyFlash nodded. "Arion squadron won't give up on this." He said.

"You can count on us." Rainbow Dash added.

Celestia smiled. As well did Luna. They both could tell that they wanted to just do it. Even on how crazy it sounds. Fluttershy and Derpy didn't seem scared at all. But still a hint of nervousness in them.

"Thank you. To all of you. Defend Saddle-Arabia. For all of us." Luna bowed her head.

HandyFlash nodded and ran out of the building as the others followed. Neon Nimbus led the way to the AAC-113 Albatross. She was going to be communicating and informing them on their stand alone aerial fight on Saddle-Arabia's capital. They flew by using their wings and looked around. Drones were flying around mainly destroying cannons that were meant for ground. Ground cannons were useless. If the meeting was done, they would've sent Anti-Aircraft cannons. Fluttershy couldn't stand what's happening. All she can do is hold back tears and get revenge on the drones when she's on her IPG-619 jet. Rainbow Dash was angry at the situation instead. If the drones were going to get away with it, she would turn it around like an empty bottle.

They reached the Aerial Aircraft Carrier and immediately headed to the flight deck. The nine of them went to their own jet aircrafts and put on their half-masks. HUDs, Visors, Engines, Joystick, Batteries, and Flaps were double checked. Neon Nimbus called in a flight deck crew to change their batteries with a new one. Derpy looked confused.

"What's that your removing and putting a new one in?" Derpy asked.

"It's called a holobattery. How do you think you get a lot more missiles?" One of the flight deck crews told her.

"That is a good point." Derpy…well…derped.

As soon as the crew finished replacing the new advanced holo battery, they all raised their hooves to say that it's all set. Neon Nimbus looked at Arions squadron nervously. She hoped they would make it back. HandyFlash checked the radios and switched at the correct channel.

"Arion 1 to all squad members. You read me?" HandyFlash asked.

"Arion 2. Copy that. Loud and clear." Rainbow Dash responded. As the others did.

"Alright. Everything is all set." HandyFlash turned his visor on. "Alright Arion flight. Are you all ready? Remember, it's only us out there. No squadrons or anything. Only us. One key but, it's a big one. Teamwork. Be lone wolf if necessary." He said. They all agreed and turned on their visors.

One of the flight deck crew headed to a console and talked on a microphone. "Wing feathers of Celestia and Luna, get ready for Catshot."

"Let's do this! Mad as a Phoenix!" HandyFlash yelled to give some enthusiasm to his squadron. It worked.

"Awww Yeah." Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Yay…" Fluttershy whispered. She should've done it LOUDER! Nah jk.

Thunderlane looked at Blossomforth, Derpy, Dumbell, Flitter, and Cloudchaser's plane. "Hey guys. Good luck." He smiled.

"Thanks thunders." Blossomforth said.

"Yeah thanks." Flitter and Cloudchaser said at the same time.

"Roger. Derpy, I got your back." Dumbell told her.

"Okay. Thank you." Derpy thanked.

All the nine members prayed that they will be alright. They held on to their handles tightly and prepared themselves. They all raised their hooves in the air then saluted for launch.

"Roger. Catshot in 3…2…1…Launch!" The crew member yelled as the nine planes were shot forward straight at the same speed.

Thunderlane whistled at the adrenaline rush he had from the catshot. Pretty intense, was it not? All of Arion squadron checked their flaps, speed, pressure, and every safety checks. All appeared to be perfect, so they activated their shields and flew to the capital's airspace.

"Arion Flight. Be advised. I sent a beacon to call for more help. May take some time though." Neon Nimbus told them.

"Copy that. Alright Arions. This is it. Shoot down anything that is hostile." HandyFlash gave a straight forward orders.

"Haha. Here I was about to shoot down Thunderlane." Blossomforth joked.

"Ladies first, Blossom." Thunderlane rolled his eyes.

The nine pilots of Arion used their afterburners to pick up the pace or else more damage will get higher. They all got close enough and saw drones flying all over the city. A transmission was heard surprisingly. They all thought all communications were down, but this looks like its coming from the emergency tunnels of the capital.

"This is Marshal Zafir, ground control of the city. Any allies in the area, we need assistance. No innocents wounded, but the city is turning into an air riot." Zafir said on the radio.

HandyFlash responded. "Marshal Zafir, this is Colonel HandyFlash, Leader of Arion Squadron of the Equestrian Task Force X air units. We'll deal with the problem. Focus on the ground while we take care of the air." He said.

"Affirmative, Colonel HandyFlash." Zafir hung up to do his job.

Another transmission was being heard on the radio again. "Guys? Are you there? It's me. Twilight." Twilight called them by the bracelet that Neon Nimbus gave her.

Rainbow Dash responded. "Twilight? Is everyone okay in the safe room?" She asked.

"Yes. We're okay. I only called you just to wish you all a good luck. And please stay safe." Twilight told them.

"Roger. You too Twilight." HandyFlash said as Twilight hung up.

As they proceeded to the capital, Neon Nimbus gave the sign to eliminate the drones. "Arion flight, go get them." She said.

"Lets do this!" HandyFlash said as his squadron started to engage the drones flying over the city.

HandyFlash picked his target which was by the Burj Khoofa. He aimed his HUD at his target as steady as he could for a flawless and accurate shot. "Come on. Tease it…Tease it…" He said. Rainbow Dash made a small giggle on the frequency; which HandyFlash heard. "What's so funny?" He asked.

Rainbow Dash was still covering her laugh. "Nothing." She saw that he finished off the drone after.

Derpy decided to make the targets a bit confused. She went on hover mode on her aircraft and began firing cannon rounds at the drones. The drones that were aiming at her had trouble to take her down. Since Derpy had a VTOL aircraft, it had a lot of flares just in case. "Fox 2 fired." She said and shot down a drone head on.

Fluttershy broke left to aim at one drone that was heading to a Saddle-Arabian hotel. "No! I won't let you hurt other poor defenseless ponies!" She chased it down and went closer to the drone for a good splash damage by her missile. "Firing." She fired one missile, resulting the drone to get lose and tumble. Next, she fired cannon rounds at the drone's engines which made the whole drone explode into a blue, yellow and orange fireball.

"Woah. Nice one, Fluttershy." Dumbbell gave a compliment.

"Thank you."

"This is Neon Nimbus, we have drones flying over the Jumareah Beach Hotel. They can use some help Arions." Neon Nimbus warned them.

Thunderlane turned to the direction of the Jumareah Beach Hotel and saw probably around 12 drones. "I'll head over there. I love a challenge." Thunderlane boosted towards the hotel airspace and used 5 long ranged missiles to lock on. "Time for your bedtime." He aimed until he had all five lock ons. When the confirmed lock on was showing, he fired in a flash. The missiles headed straight for their target. Next, all five missiles took five drones down. "Goodnight baby." He smirked. He could feel the vibration on his aircraft from the drones getting hit my his missiles.

Dumbbell chased down a drone that was flying around the city. He had a lock on, but he couldn't risk firing it. If he fires and misses, it can head to a building causing a wreck. "I don't got the itchy hoof just yet." He continued to chase it down. Luckily, it pulled up which made it safe to fire. But he noticed Derpy was getting chased by a bandit right in front of him. "Alrighty then. Plan B." He locked on to the one he was chasing and the one that was after Derpy. "Fox 2." He fired two infrared guided missiles. He shot down the one he was chasing and the one that was after Derpy.

"Thanks Dumbbell." Derpy thanked.

"Told you I got your back." Dumbbell said.

Blossomforth rolled her aircraft around to evade any missiles or cannon rounds from hitting her plane. Her visor caught an enemy bandit on her front. She licked her lips and chased it down. "No one retreats from Arion Squadron." She said to herself and fired cannon rounds. Resulting heavy damage on the flaps of the drone. She saw that the drone broke down right; heading to the emergency tunnels. Her eyes widened and saw what was it planning to do.

In the entrance of the tunnel was a unicorn mother and her daughter, entering in for safety. A loud roar was heard and got their attention to the horrifying sight of a drone closing in for crashing on their spot. The mother held her daughter tightly as the little filly cried.

Blossomforth noticed the two scared innocents. She raised up a bit and fired a missile from above. The missile hit the drone so hard that it was forced down; which stopped it from crashing on the mother and daughter.

The mother opened her eyes and saw that the drone was destroyed just 15 meters in front of her. Close call! Her daughter looked up with the tears blurring her eyes and saw Blossomforth's aircraft fly threw. She looked at her mother and hugged her. Blossomforth looked back and saw that the mother glowed her horn and touched it which caused a glowing hoof. She waved it of a way of saying 'Thank You'. Blossomforth smiled and continued to fly and destroy more drones.

Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser were flying around the Jumareah Beach and were shooting down drones traveling in a low altitude. Rainbow Dash flew on afterburners on top of the water which made the drone that was chasing her to have trouble to see her. Unexpectedly, Cloudchaser fired a missile head on to the drone that was chasing Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks Cloudchaser." Rainbow Dash said.

"Anytime, Dash." Cloudchaser pulled up to chase one drone.

Flitter was chasing after a drone that was about to chase Cloudchaser. It drifted across the top waters. One thing she didn't realize was a drone was following her. It fired a missile as the drone in front of her broke right.

"Oh no…" She heard the missile alarm. She turned her aircraft right and drifted, then dropped flares. The missile that was after her went passed her and unexpectedly hit the drone she was after. The drone behind her soon exploded by the missile by HandyFlash.

"I was going to shoot that down to, Flash." Flitter said.

"Hey, least I was watching your back." HandyFlash smirked. He was later woken up by the sound of a missile lock on him. "Hold on." He said and flew to the capital to lose the drone that was after him.

HandyFlash was being chased by one drone. He started to move around, avoiding an accurate shot for the drone. One thing he didn't realize is he was close to the Burj Khoofa. He breaks left and goes past one of the rooms; which happens to be the safe room where the group was at. Rarity almost fainted by the near miss. She took Twilight's bracelet and called HandyFlash.

"HandyFlash! Mind being careful near the building we're in." Rarity reminded him.

"Oh. Sorry everypony." HandyFlash apologized in embarrassment. He focused back on the drone and fired a missile and destroyed his target.

Rainbow Dash contacted Neon Nimbus. "General, is back up here just yet?" She asked.

"Negative. Reinforcements are not here yet." Neon Nimbus answered.

Later in the safe room in the top floor of Burj Khoofa as Arion Flight is taking care of the drones, Most of them were worried about the capital and Arion squadron. Pinkie Pie decided to make the worries go away by cheering them up by a game.

"Does anypony here want to play a game while we're in here?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Shining Armor looked at her. "What game?" He asked.

"Hmm..." Pinkie Pie tapped her chin. "How about rock, paper, scissors?" She suggested.

Twilight raised her hoof…which obviously didn't show fingers. "Pinkie?"

"Yes, Twilight?" Pinkie blinked.

"We don't have fingers." Twilight reminded her.

"Oh." Pinkie Pie derped. "How about thumb wrestle?"

Twilight face hoofed. "We don't have thumbs either."

Applejack chuckled. "Sugarcube, you're suggesting griffon games." She told her.

Pinkie Pie kept thinking. "Oh I know! Truth or-"

"Don't even think about it." Applejack glared.

Princess Celestia made a suggestion. "How about we play Magic Marble. Me and Luna played it every time when we were bored long ago." She reminded Luna about the game even before Luna's banishment to the moon.

"How do you play?" Shining Armor asked.

Celestia made an orb by her horn and picked it up with her hoof. She tossed it to Luna as she catches it. The orb had low gravity so it made it easier to catch. The others decided to play as well and circled around.

Back in the air in about ten minutes later, Arion Squadron has shot down many drones than as possible. Some smoke was on the ground by the drones that were shot down. The nine of them shot down approximately 14 each. That counts that Razor Whisk lost about 126 drones.

"Hostile destroyed." Flitter said on the comma confirming she got one drone shot down.

"Roger." Derpy followed in a drone trying to withdraw. "Locked." She fired a missile and destroyed it.

"Keep it up Arions. It's not over just yet. A few more to go." HandyFlash said. He saw a drone head on and decided to fire a QRAM at it.

The drone got shot down put damaged HandyFlash's holobattery, resulting it to be temporarily blinded. Same went to Thunderlane because he was right next to him.

"My battery is hit. I'm jammed!" HandyFlash said.

"Same here." Thunderlane told him. He looked back and saw two drones getting ready to pursue them. "Boss, Drones! Behind us!" He warned HandyFlash.

HandyFlash pulled up as the drone chased him down. Thunderlane followed his lead as well as another one was after him. The altitude on their meter said they were rising up at a fast pace. It now reached 23,000 feet. They were half way to a stall point.

"HandyFlash to Thunderlane. You hear me?" HandyFlash asked while looking at Thunderlane's aircraft.

"Yeah man. I'm right here." Thunderlane said.

"Remember that time when you asked what would happen if we look outside a plane at the cafeteria during flight school?" HandyFlash asked if he remembered about that conversation.

"Roger. Yeah. Why?"

"We're about to find out now." HandyFlash said.

Twilight and the rest looked up at HandyFlash and Thunderlane's aircrafts while two drones were after them. She suspiciously looked at them. "What are you two doing?" She asked nervously.

"Something crazy." Thunderlane answered.

Neon Nimbus stared at their planes. "I don't like the looks of your stunt. Advise you don't do it." She said.

"Thunderlane. Open that bag on the right side of your cockpit." HandyFlash told him.

Thunderlane did so and saw a very interesting weapon. It has been used ever since the First-Changeling Civil War. "The M1L? How did you get this?" He asked.

"My aunt, Twinkle Shoot. Shining Armor, I'm sure you know who that is." HandyFlash said.

"Yeah. She was one of the bravest fighters who saved me during the Battle of Stalliongrad." Shining Armor remembered her through the war to the end when they both went to their own home.

"Boss, I'm ready." Thunderlane accepted.

"Roger. Try not to get hit." HandyFlash wished him good luck.

"Guys? What are you doing? Don't even think about it." Rainbow Dash looked up. The Saddle-Arabians looked up as well and saw the two pilots being chased.

HandyFlash and Thunderlane reached 29,000 feet. HandyFlash yelled out. "NOW!" He said. Both of them took off their half-masks and seat belts and loaded their M1Ls. In a VERY crazy or insane way, they jumped out of their planes as their aircraft still went forward up. HandyFlash and Thunderlane were now a few feet away from their seats in the exposed sky. Thanks to their wing power, they were by their aircrafts. They aimed their M1Ls at the two drones front. At the same time, they fired. The drones exploded from that one shot. Why? They aimed at the drone's missiles.

"BOOM! MILK DRINKERS!" Thunderlane yelled out.

The two flew as fast as they could to their aircraft's seats. They successfully reached their seats and slowed down their aircraft to perform a stall sending them straight down. They regained speed and flew down at a good altitude. HandyFlash and Thunderlane put on their half-masks back on again as they breathed in and out like they just ran a mile.

(A/N: Do not even think about doing that obviously. It's a cartoon thing. Not reality.)

On the Burj Khoofa, the group just stared with their eyes widened. Same to the rest of Arion Squadron in the air, Neon Nimbus with the flight deck crew, and the Saddle-Arabian ponies. Rarity fainted for real this time, but was woken up by Pinkie Pie when she yelled at her ears.

HandyFlash and Thunderlane flew across the capital. "That. Was. AWESOME!" Thunderlane yelled.

The ponies in the capital heated that they were still alive when Marshal Zafir's radio was on speaker. The guards cheered as well along with Twilight and the group, Neon Nimbus and the deck crew.

Neon Nimbus contacted the two. "Guys. You have got to be the craziest pilots I've ever met." She laughed.

"Crazy? That's way beyond less than anything." Rainbow Dash said.

Neon Nimbus looked at the radar and noticed friendly contact approaching the capital. "Well, back up has arrived when the airspace is already clear."

"This is Sparkle 4. Thunderdrop. Member of Sparkle Squadron. We responded from an emergency beacon. Are you all alright?" Thunderdrop asked while his squadron flew around the airspace.

"This is Arion 1. Leader of Arion flight of the Task Force X. The airspace is already clear. You don't need to worry." HandyFlash responded.

Neon Nimbus contacted Thunderdrop. "This is General Neon Nimbus. Tell your flight to patrol around the area." She ordered. "You from Task Force X?"

"Negative." Thunderdrop said.

"Copy. Patrol the area."

"Roger." Thunderdrop followed his squadron.

"Arion Squadron, the nine of you are either crazy or true aces. Heck of a good job out there, Wing Feathers." Neon Nimbus smiled. She made one of her elite flights against drones that outnumbered them.

Thunderlane laughed. "I'll take the crazy part." He said.

"Yes you should." Rarity said on the comm.

The rest of Arion squadron regrouped and flew around the capital. They wanted to double check if any drones were called for reinforcements. Nothing arrived except for a few E.R.A.F pilots.

"No reinforcements. I guess we're clear." Rainbow Dash said.

"Looks like it." HandyFlash agreed.

"I guess we probably finished off the rest of the drones." Fluttershy guessed.

"I doubt it. Razor Whisk still might have tricks up his sleeve." Flitter said. The rest of them flew back to the AAC-113 Albatross to land their planes and fly back to the Burj Khoofa. Where they got a warm welcome.

When they arrived back, Princess Celestia and Luna waited for them in the front lobby as Saddle-Arabian ponies took some pictures of Arion squadron and also cheered. Twilight and the rest was right next to the two princesses and winked at all of them a good job. Al Khoofa went to them and gave them all a hoofshake.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for defending all of us." Al Khoofa shook all their hooves and bowed his head. "You are welcome to be in my building anytime you want."

"It was nothing sir. We just wanted to help as much as we can." HandyFlash said.

"Plus anything you need help with, just tell us." Rainbow Dash added.

Al Khoofa cleared his throat. "If you wouldn't mind, I'm going to have to continue the meeting. Feel free to look around the capital or my building until we're done." He said.

Rarity squealed and ran out of the building to go shopping. Applejack decided to follow her, so she went with Rarity. Pinkie Pie went to the bakery near the building and ate whatever was sweet.

Blossomforth decided to just walk around the Burj Khoofa outside and look at its large and beautiful fountain in the front. She kept her distance a bit to not let her Air Force Service Dress to get wet. She heard a female from behind her.

"Excuse me? Miss?" A mare called her with a strong arabic accent. Blossomforth looked behind her and saw the mare who was calling her. She recognized her immediately. It was the mother and daughter she saved during the defense of the capital.

"Yes? May I help you?" Blossomforth asked kindly.

"W-Where you the one that saved me and my daughter from one of those…devil flyers?" She asked while holding her daughter.

Blossomforth smiled. "Yes. I recognized you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked to make sure they weren't injured.

The mother shook her head 'No'. "No. But…I would like to thank you for saving our lives." She smiled.

"Your very welcome." Blossomforth bowed her head.

The mother woke up her daughter and showed Blossomforth her. "My daughter, Anjum, would like to thank you as well."

Blossomforth noticed that her daughter was just a little foal. Anjum looked at Blossomforth and smiled. Anjum nuzzled her and giggled. Blossomforth couldn't help but smile on how cute she was. They both decided to have a chat.

HandyFlash was on the other side of the fountain just looking at the water. In the corner of his eye, Fluttershy arrived with some medical supplies. He raised his eyebrow.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"For the shot on your jaw." Fluttershy started working on treating his shot.

Thunderlane went to HandyFlash and gave him a high-wing. "Nice job out there, Flash." He smirked.

"Thanks. Same to you as well like my squad." HandyFlash said.

"Does that mean I did a better job?"

"I don't know." HandyFlash laughed.

Fluttershy held his chin. "Hold still, please." She said quietly.

"Sorry."

Next Chapter: Striking like Sharks Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 39 Minutes