June 3rd, 2307 SET. Apple Harvest Orbit, Dauntless Frigate-Apple Harvest System

Rainbow sat in her assigned briefing chair, still remembering the party that happened only a few hours ago. She was thinking how Applejack was telling a story about how they were first establishing the colony when the pounding of hooves on a table snapped her out of her trance.

“Hey, Bolt! You alive?” came a distant voice. It took a moment for Rainbow to realize that it was Spectre. She shook her head, trying to snap herself back into real time. Around the room sat several other ponies, the pilots from the other squadrons. They were talking amongst themselves about their business and discussing the up-and-coming mission.

“Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry, just getting into pre-op mode, ya’ know how it is,” Rainbow said with a wink. Spectre looked skeptical, but he let it go.

“Uh huh, well just be ready, you know what happened the last time you weren't,” Spectre shot back.

“Hey, I was very ready, you saw me, I shot down three rebels that day! Not my fault you weren't watching where you were flying,” Rainbow retorted.

Spectre’s face twisted in doubt, “right, well next time, watch my back better.”

“Don’t worry Spectre, I’ll never let you down!” Rainbow replied.

It was then that the door to the briefing room swung open and Ace and another pony walked in, discussing something under hushed tones.

“...Well I still don’t like it, ponies are going to get killed,” Ace said.

“I know you don’t like it, Commander, but this is comes straight from the top, nothing you or I can do about it,” replied the other pony. At the sound of an upper ranking officer, the entire room snapped to attention. “At ease,” the grey mare said hastily.

“Pilots, this is Colonel Ambers, she is the captain of the science vessel we will be escorting on this sortie,” Ace started, but the Colonel cut her off.

“Let’s skip the formalities here and jump right into the briefing. This is no ordinary science mission, as I’m sure you could have figured out,” the Colonel said.

Duh,’Rainbow thought to herself. The Colonel looked at Rainbow as if she heard her thoughts.

“Continuing on, we have received reports about rebel activity in this sector. There is no threat coming directly from the colony below, but we have suspicions that some of the local planets’ moons may be housing small rebel naval bases. We have a detachment of the ‘Fighting Fifth’ fleet waiting just outside of the system, not a twenty minute jump away. If there are rebels in this area, this science screening mission will hopefully draw them out into open engagement, a trap if you will. I’m sorry to say, however, we are the bait,” the Colonel paused. At the sound of the word bait, murmurs started to arise, but were quickly stifled by a grey hoof in the air, “now, the science vessel will be fully controlled from the Dauntless, so there will be no pony on board her. However, we must make it look like we are defending her so vigorously that it will draw their attention towards it. The vessel does have automated weapons, so be careful of where you fly, they’re computers, they’re not perfect. Once they commit a majority of their forces towards our decoy vessel, I will signal the Fifth fleet to jump in system. That leaves us twenty minutes to hold them off while they attack us. Pilots, stay near the Dauntless once they commit against the science vessel, that will be your best hope of survival, her point defence laser turrets will help keep the skies clear. While I doubt they will have anything heavier than an outdated frigate, the Angel bomber squadron will be kept out of combat until something like that rears its ugly head. If that situation does arise,” the Colonel turned to face Ace, “I want your squadron to escort them,” she turned back to face the rest of the pilots. “Any questions? No? Good, saddle up everyone, its gonna’ be a long haul.”

***

June 3rd, 2307 SET. Planet Manestay Asteroid Belt-Apple Harvest System

“This is Lancer wing 2-5-9, call sign Ace, squadron falling into tractor lock behind the science vessel, mark,” Ace’s voice echoed over the radio. Rainbow felt an invisible force grab onto her Lancer, holding her in a tight formation with her two wing ponies. The tractor lock allowed the pilots to relax in their cockpits without worrying about flying. The Lancer-class fighter had a similar design to the older fighter jets the ponies used to use. It had two forward wings and two smaller rear wings and a long fuselage with the cockpit at the front. The only notable difference was the weapons. The lancers had a laser cannon at the end of each wing. The operation had just started with the science vessel slowly weaving in and out of the asteroid belt, as if looking for something. Rainbow Dash had settled into her cockpit and began to rest her eyes. If anything had shown up to challenge the small group, her alarms would let her know. Her mind started to wander, and soon she was dozing off into a light sleep.

***

Ponies had fully achieved the ability to travel to other planets in other solar systems in the year 2143, and as a result, the population of Equestria began to diminish ever so slightly. No pony wanted to be stuck on a boring old planet when they could be out exploring the stars above them. By now, Equestria had gone into open skirmishes with the Gryphons, due to the amount of raids the Gryphonian Legions had launched on the boarders of Equestria. This was another reason for many ponies leaving their homes, they didn’t want to be caught up in a war with a highly trained Gryphon army.

At first, the Gryphon raids were primarily contained to the border regions, until one fateful day, the main force of the Gryphonian King’s army began a march through Equestria, slaughtering all in his path. The ponies were heretics and by the will of the gods, they were to be wiped out. For a gruesome twenty years, the Gryphon armies marched through Equestria, leaving a burning and bloody wake wherever they went. The Gryphonian Legions now set there eyes on Canterlot, the last free pony city in Equestria. For three years they laid siege to the city, attacking any pony brave enough to leave the protective walls. By now, most of the citizens had been evacuated into space, away from their homes to Mares, and from there they were spread out through the collective holdings of the Equestrian regions. On May 17th 2193, the Canterlot fell to the gryphons, but not before evacuating the majority of its citizens.

Most were evacuated, except for an unfortunate few who were left behind. They were left to die in their old homes, they had thought. Left by their Princesses who they long revered as gods and protectors, they swore to get revenge on their leaders. They had found their own ways off planet, and headed towards Mares. They didn’t reveal their plans for many years, slowly building an army and gathering fresh recruits. They named themselves the “Shadow Syndicate,” to show that they would strike at those who had left the syndicate behind in their shadows.

After fifty years of careful planning and expanding, the Shadow Syndicate finally made their first move. The utter destruction and seizing of the colony Mares. Terrorist bombers across the planet launched a full out assault on all major shipping lines, hospitals, air bases, government buildings, major population centers, and many other locations. The colony fell in less than a week to the vicious ponies. A colony of nearly a million ponies fell to an army of no more than a thousand. They then transmitted themselves across all channels of the New Equestrian Expansion. They showed videos of ponies exploding, buildings collapsing, and many other horrors across public access. They then quickly disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving the colony in ruins, but not without an owner. The leaders of the Shadow Syndicate contacted the Gryphon Legions back in Old Equestria, alerting them to the now vacant planet that was not far out of their reach. The Gryphon King quickly managed to build a colonist vessel of his own, quickly claiming the smoldering ruins of Mares.

Since then, the Shadow Syndicate has launched many offensives against the New Equestrian Expansion. While these attacks were not nearly as ferocious and violent as the assault on Mares, they were much more frequent with more modern technology. While never admitting it publicly, it is believed that the Shadow Syndicate has had the backing of the Gryphons since they gave Gryphonia their first colony.

It was after the destruction of Mares and the loss of many other lives due to raids by the Shadow Syndicate, was it determined that the New Equestrian Expanse would begin building a large military presence amongst her colonies. The New Equestrian Space Command was thus formed, as a way to monitor and control a large standing military in the vast reaches of space. After several years in the making, five fleets were trained and ready to defend their worlds. The first fleet to get this chance was the New Equestrian Fifth Fleet.

In the year 2233,a large Shadow Syndicate fleet had appeared in the middle of field test that the Fifth was having. Outnumbered two-to-one, the Fifth fleet held its own against the Shadow Syndicate fleet, forcing a retreat for the first time. It was then that the fleet received the nickname the “Fighting Fifth.” It was used as a moral booster, but at the same time, it was a truly earned name. This was also when the true power of the Shadow Syndicate was brought to full attention. They were well armed with fleets and other fighting forces, no longer just terrorists hiding out on planets, waiting for small prey. They were a clear threat, and every day their numbers were growing. They had begun seizing uncolonized planets, transforming themselves into a full empire, capable of rivaling the New Equestrian Expanse.

***

A loud beeping woke Rainbow Dash from her slumber. She shook her head and took in her surroundings. She saw on her radar two large green blips and several smaller green blips, the Dauntless and the science vessel and her escort fighters. But on the outer edges of her radar screen, small red blips began to appear, the ship’s IFF tagging the unknown ships as rebels. Her intercom flared to life, “Alright every pony, look alive, we got inbound hostiles, looks like eight Stead-class fighter squadrons and three Angel-class bomber wings,” Ace’s voice cracked.

Eight fighter squadrons and three bomber squadrons against a lone frigate and her three escort squadrons? This is gonna’ be a close shave, Rainbow thought to herself. She flicked a series of switches, her fighter coming back under her control. She ran quick preliminary checks to make sure everything was working order. She pulled her ship into a quick somersault and then just as quickly righted herself. Around her, other pilots began doing the same, performing a series of maneuvers that would have been brilliant in a non-combat scenario. To her left, the Dauntless’ laser platforms began rotating, preparing for combat. Rainbow flicked a final switch and the sound of charging laser cannons was the response. Rainbow rolled her fighter in closely behind Ace’s left wing, Spectre followed suite, following closely on Ace’s right. The three got up close to the science vessel and began to orbit slowly around it, giving the look of a quick screening defense.

The two small fleets were no more than 100-km from each other. As the two fleets drew ever closer, the enemy fleet began peppering the New Equestrian fleet with light laser fire, dealing no real damage. The Dauntless was the first to draw blood, as her main weapon, a pulse cannon, opened fire, striking two enemy fighters, vaporizing them instantly. At first, Rainbow felt a pang of regret for those two pilots, they died before they even had a chance to fight back, but then she thought of the innocents the rebels slaughtered on Mares. All remorse was washed away from her mind, and she focused on the nearest fighter to her, putting it right in her reticule. A little closer, little closer, she thought to herself. Gotcha, she pressed her trigger. Bright streams of blue light lanced out of her ship, slamming into the fuselage of the fighter that was flying directly at her. The ship light up into a large ball of flame, bits and pieces spiraling off into the emptiness of space.

“Good shot, Bolt! Let em’ pass, then come around on me, lets tag us some rebel tail,” Ace’s voice leaped out of Rainbow’s intercom. Rainbow clicked her intercom unit, indicating that she understood. The two opposing sides fighters shot past each other at lightning speeds. “Alright, go!” Rainbow pulled her ship into a tight loop, perfectly ending up next to Ace. “Focus the bombers, keep em’ away from the science vessel!” Ace yelled into the mic. Two clicks was the response. A large flash of light and a red blip disappearing on Rainbow’s radar marked another kill for the Dauntless, which was sitting a small distance away from the fight, acting more like pin-point artillery than a warship.

Probably that Colonel’s idea, Rainbow thought, although not much of a thought. She was too focused on the battle to give anymore attention to anything else. Spectre had fallen in behind her, allowing her to lead the way. She tapped a button on her dashboard and six enemy bombers became illuminated through the HUD. Rainbow hit another button which sent the data towards her two squad mates. They clicked their thanks, and they began to systematically pick off the bombers.

All around Rainbow the battle was raging. Fighters were chasing each other down, pinning one another against asteroids and the larger ships alike. Every so often, an unfortunate rebel pilot would fly too close to the Dauntless and would get picked off by the point defense turrets. Amateurs, Rainbow thought, shaking her head. These weren’t experienced pilots by any pony’s means. This guys were barely even trained, she would have bet. Rainbow and her squad had managed to pick of four of the six bombers, and she thought the battle would might have been won, without the help of the Fifth. She was about to mark a victory for herself when an alert began blinking on her HUD. She glanced down at her radar, and what she made her heart sink.

“All craft fall back to the Dauntless, two enemy destroyers have jumped in system! Fall back!” came the voice of clearly surprised Colonel, “we have reinforcements inbound! I repeat, the Fifth fleet is inbound, all craft, hold steady!”

No shit hold steady! Rainbow screamed in her mind. As the pilots began to fall back towards the Dauntless, swarms of enemy fighters began converging on their location. The science vessels automated weapons served them well...for a moment. The ship had shot down its eighth fighter before being hammered by the two destroyers. The ship became still for a moment before going out fighting, taking out two more fighters in the process. A final volley from the destroyers put it out of its misery. In retaliation, the Dauntless fired a well placed shot into the side of one of the destroyers, making it rotate on its axis.

The radio came to life again, “now’s our chance! Bombers launch, hammer that crippled ship! Commander, you and your squadron protect those bombers!” the Colonel yelled through the mic. A solid click was the reply. Three bombers departed the hangar bay of the Dauntless, moving hastily against the darkness of space. The three Lancers dropped in behind the bombers, slowing their pace slightly to maintain the same speed as the bombers. While a majority of the enemy fighters were occupied with the Dauntless and her defenders, several had split off from the main group to engage the bombers.

“Incoming!” Ace’s voice spat through the radio. The three Lancers turned and flew head first into the oncoming fighters, trading laser rounds. While no serious damage was taken, Rainbow’s wing had a acquired some laser burns. She blasted the enemy ship who dared to scratch hers. This dropped the enemy count from five to four. While as powerful as the Lancers, the Stead fighters were no match for the Lancers’ agility, and the enemy pilots were no where near as skilled as the three in Rainbow’s squadron. In a quick one minute skirmish, the other fighters were either dead or retreating.

By now the bombers had reached their target and began their run. A series of flashing lights began to follow in the wake of the bombers against the hull of the stunned destroyer. “Let’s follow em’ in!” Ace said, cueing her crew to switch to the torpedo that all Lancers carried. The Lancers came in low and fast and quickly deployed their heavy ordinance.

One of the torpedoes must have hit something crucial because once the Lancers cleared the husk of the ship, a large explosion rattled across Rainbow’s fighter, shaking the controls slightly. “That’s a hit, that’s a hit, good shooting everyone,” came Ace’s reassuring voice. Rainbow dared a quick peak behind her, and satisfaction rolled across her body at what she saw. The ship had been sheered in two, its pieces being slowly pulled in by the planet in the distance. “Alright, lets guide the bombers in on the second ship.”

The large ship had been ignoring the small fighters, preferring to target the larger threat off in the distance, the Dauntless. The large ship charged its main weapon and launched a shot off towards the frigate, striking it in the side. Even from the distance she was at, Rainbow could see that the side where the blast had hit had been completely torn away. Debris began falling away from the ship, much like it had from the wrecked destroyer. Rainbow could see a series of ruptures in the ship, atmosphere and flames bursting from them. The comm channel roared to life, “Mayday, mayday, this is the Dauntless, we’re hit! Main cannon down, engine power down to sixty percent, all New Equestrian Space Command ships respond!” came a panicked voice over the intercom. The voice paused for a moment, before coming back online with a somber yet terrified tone, “the Colonel is dead, I repeat, the Colonel is dead, and the ESI pulled the reinforcements back, we screwed!”

Ace quickly jumped on the line, “whoever this is get a hold on yourself! Fall back towards the planet now, we will cover your escape!” She closed the channel, giving who ever was talking no chance of replying. “Heavies, you still good to go?” Ace directed the question at the bomber squadron who was flying near by.

“You know it Commander, still got half a payload to deliver!” replied an enthusiastic voice.

“Right, lets buy our friends a little time, follow us in!”

The three Lancers swooped in front of the bombers, drawing as much fire away as they could. They flew full speed at the looming destroyer in front of them, peppering it with as much laser fire as they could before having to pull away. They focused their fire on one location, punching a small hole in the ships armor. “There’s your target, give em’ hell!” Ace shouted.

As the Lancers pulled out of their attack run, the three bombers swooped past them, missiles and bombs hurling at the small crack in the ships armor. As the heavy ordinance began to collide with the ship, the crack became a fracture, which became a rupture, which became a gaping hole. A large blast rocked the ship back and forth, throwing it out of its old position. A series of whoops and cheers erupted through the radio. Rainbow allowed herself to join the celebration for a moment, until one of the voices cut out. “Hawk? Hawk where did you-gah!” another voice cut out. The ship’s point defense lasers had targeted themselves on the new attackers, focusing on the bombers.

“Get out of here! Go now-” the last bomber disappeared into a ball of melting metal and static. The three pilots instinctively whipped their ships around and began to speed away, a barrage of lights flinging past them. Rainbow threw her ship into a spiral, dodging any incoming fire. She looked down at her radar and quickly scanned what was happening. The large blip had turned to face them, determined not to let its attackers go unpunished. The Dauntless was slowly limping away from battle trying to fend off its small attackers with what was left of the squadrons it held and its remaining defensive lasers.

Rainbow looked at the situation with a grim expression, realizing what needed to be done. “We need to buy them more time, otherwise they wont make it,” she said over the radio quietly. She knew she would die, but she would die saving the lives of many ponies on board the Dauntless. Not to mention the ponies on Apple Harvest. The colony was openly aligned with the New Equestrian Expanse. If the small fighting force fell to the rebels now, there would be no telling what they would do to the colonists. Rainbow thought of her smiling friends down below.

“Are you crazy? If we go back we’ll get slaughtered!” Spectre said, the first time saying anything since the battle started.

“Look, if we go back and draw the destroyers attention, the Dauntless will get back towards friendly space with hopefully having time to formulate a defense plan. If we retreat with the Dauntless, we will all be picked off one by one. Either way we die, so at least this way we die saving lives,” Rainbow said, frustrated.

“What could three Lancers who are out of heavy ordinance do against a destroyer other than be a nuisance for a few moments?” Spectre, almost pleading for another way.

“Hey, we’re the best pilots out here remember? And maybe we can take the thing down with us, she’s hurt badly after all,” Rainbow choked out, accepting her fate, “I’m going back, you can come if you want.” Rainbow threw her ship into a loop, heading straight for the bridge of the enemy ship. Ace, who hadn’t said a word, was quick to follow Rainbow’s maneuver.

“Gah!” Spectre yelled in defeat, and he quickly followed the other two. The three fighters rocketed towards the enemy ship, looping and rolling around enemy laser fire. They began to return fire, aiming for the bridge of the ship. The three Lancers sped ever faster at their target, lasers constantly streaming out of their cannons, looping and dodging around incoming fire.

The alarms signaling overheating engines and lasers began to chime. The hull integrity alert came on, warning her of damage. Rainbow closed her eyes, trembling as she flew. She wasn’t mad that she was going to die, she was just disappointed. Disappointed that Scootaloo was looking forward to finally flying with her idol, but would never get the chance. She thought of the rest of her friends on the ground, a single tear formed in her eye, “Goodbye every pony,” she said aloud, waiting for her ship to split apart.

“Goodbye? Why, we’re just gettin’ started!” Came a familiar voice. Rainbow wrenched her eyes open and shot a look at her radar. New contacts had appeared, but with green IFF tags. A rag-tag group of fighters had appeared out of nowhere behind the enemy destroyer, dropping bombs and strafing it with laser fire. The ship began to turn to face this new threat, until another wave of old fighters dropped in behind it and smashed it with weapons from the opposite side. A huge explosion shook the ship, shaking loose chunks of debris. A final pass from the first wave of fighters finished the ship, bombs shattering the hull. The ship stopped moving as all lights on it died. It sat there for a moment, dead as a rock. Then, it exploded into pieces, showering the yellow world below with bits and pieces. Rainbow had been so focused on what had just happened that she didn’t see the bit of debris in front of her. The radio came to life, “Rainbow!”

She looked ahead, shaken from her trance-like state. She threw her fighter into an uncontrolled spin, missing the piece of ship by a mere meters. At first she couldn’t wrestle her ship under her control due to the damage, but she managed to pull it into a straight line. She looked around again, although keeping an eye out in front of her. The enemy fighters had retreated back beyond the planet, presumably towards a hidden base or a transport ship. No way they were going to get out of the system otherwise. The Dauntless was now being escorted by one of the squadrons that had entered the battle moments ago, while the other squadron had formed up around Rainbow and her squad. One of the old ships had swung up near her and she could see into its cockpit, and leading the squadron of old Stead and out other dated fighters was none other than Applejack.