I looked up out of the window of the workshop, the sound of airplanes passing overhead having died down once Turbine and his large jet had taken off. Thankfully everypony else in the airbase was out watching the race, leaving myself safe to hide... though even if one had bothered to come snooping around here, I doubt they’d really bother checking around extensively. Could probably just hide myself up in the walker if I needed to, or something. I leaned up against the side of the workbench, letting out a sigh as I tried not to think of what Night Strike might have to be dealing with during the race. Come on, Static, Sharpwing already told you the racecourse, it’ll be fine. My ears perked up as a light buzzing could be heard overhead, well off in the distance. Standing back up, I peered back out of the window, trying to spot the source of the noise.

As the buzzing grew louder, though, a roar could be heard growing in the distance as well. Pressing my face into the glass to trying and get a better view, I couldn’t spot anything, and the cold of the window eventually forced me to push back from the glass. The roar grew louder still, and suddenly the sky was full of a black-nosed fireball streaking through it. I drew back in surprise, rushing to the other side of the workshop and the window there, my eyes wide as I watched the plane crash down into the snowbank on the other end of the airfield. Sirens blared out as a small half-track with large tanks of water rushed out of a hangar, ponies dousing the flaming wreck as they approached. My heart pounded in my chest as I wondered what had happened to the huge jet. My ears finally picked the sound of buzzing again and I began to search the skies, moving back to the other side of the shop, now able to spot the silhouette of the Stork against the sky. Something fell from it as it passed low over another snow bank, before it turned around for a landing.

The Stork skidded to a stop on the snowy tarmac, the crowd of ponies rushing over to it. I bit my lip, looking between the window and the door as I contemplated rushing outside. If anypony were to get Night Strike out of the jacket, who knows if our plan would work anymore, let alone what they'd do with her... I tried to get a better look through the crowd, but it was impossible to see what was going on amidst the large group of ponies. After a moment, a figure managed to fight their way out of the crowd. The bulky jacket and turned up hood quickly revealed it to be Night Strike as she hurried away, the other ponies taking a moment before they all realized their winner had slipped away.

Night Strike broke into a gallop as ponies broke off to chase her, others staying behind to either talk among themselves or to admire the Stork. Crash Dive stepped out in front of the group as they were about to pass her, causing them all to halt in place. Whatever she was doing, it was working. Night Strike managed to kick through the door into the workshop, panting heavily as she tore off the scarf and began to undo the buttons on the jacket. “Sweet Luna above, if you thought I was a fanatic for Vera, these ponies were practically ready to trample me to death!” She threw the jacket to me and I began to throw it on, working to get my hooves through the sleeves quickly as she went to work helping wrap the scarf around my neck, something on it jabbing me in the side. Nngh, couldn't have pulled Thumper out before you passed it on? “Alright, let’s hope you thought of some good excuse for this, because I sure as heck didn’t.” Before I could respond, she shoved me towards the door, jumping out of sight as it opened and I was yanked out by Serene.

The mass of ponies all gathered around, a barrage of questions being fired off by the crowd. How did you manage to overcome the Dragon Mare? What caused the explosion and fire? What happened to Turbine? How did you manage such a daring rescue? I stammered, looking back and forth between the ponies, trying to come up with answers. “I, uh, the Stork, uh…” Internally kicking myself for not asking Night Strike for details in the short time we’d had together, I eventually was force to blurt out some explanation. “T-there was some sort of, uh, encampment halfway up the race course! The mercs there had more guns than you could count!” A hush came over the crowd, and I got a bit of confidence back before beginning to elaborate. “I had to avoid dozens of volleys and bullets, we’re lucky we made it out alive! The Dragon Mare wasn’t so lucky, Turbine was swerving and tumbling and barrel rolling all over the place, but one of the group had a mortar, and, well, even with Turbine’s maneuvering, he was a bigger target, one of them hit him and set the Dragon Mare ablaze! I was barely able to get above the Dragon Mare and have Turbine jump aboard before the plane crashed down at the end of the runway.”

“…But, why did you come over here after you landed? There was a whole victor podium set up back at the finish line!” I paused as the random pony asked that question, doing my best impersonation of a deer caught in headlights. I shifted about in place a bit, leaning back against the door, biting my lip a little as my mind raced for an excuse. The sound of a forty millimeter round falling out of the pockets of the jacket suddenly met my ears, and I leaped at the chance.

“I had to return my dear friend,” Opening the door, I leaned in and managed to yank Night Strike out, who was hiding listening to the conversation. “Night Strike’s grenade rifle and ammo! Haha, you wouldn’t believe how, uh, tempting it was to not try air bombing those mercenaries as I flew over!” I stuffed the grenades into her hooves, grinning widely as she only returned a confused stare. “Good thing you sent those along, though! I know I wouldn’t have wanted to crash land in their territory unarmed!” The crowd continued to mutter back and forth, though at least they seemed to find the answer satisfactory.

A few ponies parted as Turbine trotted up to me, his mane singed and his flight jacket bearing several scorch marks. He took a deep breath, trying to make himself as presentable as possible, despite his ratty clothing. "Mmh, well, while I can't comment on the grenade rifle, I think I'd remember a mercenary encampment. I believe you might be exaggerating the truth, my successful competitor... assuming you were even the one flying in the first place. Your coat is astonishingly a much darker shade when you're airborne, isn't it?" I dryly swallowed as the unicorn stared me down, shrinking a little in the heavy flight gear. Oh, crap... Night Strike picked herself up beside me, trotting forth, a determined look on her face.

"Well, if it wasn't a mercenary camp that took your plane down, then what was it? I know for a fact that Static wouldn't have stooped so low as to shoot at a competitor if he didn't have good reason, and considering how everypony's mentioned your past successes, I'd doubt your aircraft would be the kind to suddenly burst into flames." Turbine's expression slowly moved from annoyance at being talked back to by a mare to a certain dawning realization, a smirk coming to Night Strike's muzzle. The crowd murmured behind him, some ponies glaring at him warily. "And that's a good point, according to Serene and Sharpwing, your plane was powered by an electric motor. If that's the case, what, exactly, on it would burn like what we saw when you came in? Asking me, I'd say it looked a bit like a flamethrower fuel fire more than an electrical one..."

Turbine looked between us both for a few moments, taking a step or two backwards, the crowd's murmuring becoming angrier by the moment. The unicorn stammered, glancing about for a bit before glaring daggers at us, albeit faltering. "Ye- bu- nngh, so what if it wasn't a mercenary camp! I... Graargh!" Serene and Sharpwing flanked us, both of them stepping closer to Turbine as the crowd surrounded him. Well, I mean, a semi-peaceful takeover works, too... It was Turbine's turn to be bombarded by questions, himself stumbling in the crowd. He stammered a few more times, before throwing his hooves to the air. "ENOUGH! I didn't even qualify for the win, anyways! So what if I -may- have used a rudimentary afterburner system to provide some extra kick the first few times to gain my position as leader, there wasn't any rule forbidding it! The system wasn't without its dangers, obviously!"

The murmuring of the crowd took on more sinister tones, a few ponies around the unicorn reaching out to grab ahold of him. Okay, this is starting to seem like it's gonna be a little less than semi-peaceful... wait, I'm the new leader now, aren't I? Drawing in a breath, I stood up, some of the crowd glancing my way. Here goes nothing... "Hold it, hold it! He might've done some seriously questionable things, but, well, killing him won't solve anything! He's one of the only ponies here still with a, um..." Looking to the end of the runway for a moment, the smoldering wreck of the Dragon Mare filled the snowy embankment, grey clouds slowly drifting skywards from its body. Ech... "...partially intact functional flying machine, wouldn't you want something like that to learn from? And besides that, don't you guys have any sort of jail or holding cells, anyways? Better to let him live with what he's done."

The crowd quieted for a moment, most seeming to nod in agreement as a group broke off, hauling Turbine off with them. I let out a sigh, relaxing back and looking across the crowd again. Alright, that's taken care of... now for the other part. “Ahem, anyways, uh, I think this might be the record for the shortest term of Air Marshal you guys are going to have. Not to be rude, that is, but the Vanhoover Five… well, three at the moment, has a lot of work to be done around the Vanhoover wastes still. And it’s a little hard to help make sure the towns around here have enough firepower if we’re stuck in the middle of a mountain range dozens of miles away.” The crowd’s muttering started up once again as well, ponies looking back and forth as they wondered what was going on.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to… delegate my position to Serene Steel and Sharpwing. They helped us design and build the plane after all, they had at least a hoof in the victory today.” A few ponies started to look a little miffed, their mutterings becoming louder. Those weren’t the rules! You can’t just change the leader, can you? Sensing trouble, Crash Dive stepped forward once again, her deathly glare somehow able to be sensed even through the dark visor of her helmet as she stared down the group. Taking advantage, I quickly straightened up a bit, trying to look as intimidating as possible. “It is completely within my right to do this. I won the competition. You want an official changing of rulers? I declare myself king. No more races to decide victor, I am leader from henceforth.” The crowd looked even more agitated, but Crash Dive was able to easily silence them. What wonders a good set of intimidating power armor can do...

“Now, Serene…” I pulled him over before having him place his hooves on my chest. I threw myself down dramatically, flopping to the snowy concrete as the others looked upon in complete bewilderment. “Oh! You have bested me in a fight! You are truly the rightful heir to the throne! You are now ruler of the Vanhoover Air Base!” And without another word, I stood back up, brushed off my coat, and walked back inside the workshop. The dumbfounded silence was deafening, to say the least.

---

“I still -really- can't believe that actually worked.” Night Strike let off a small grunt as we loaded up the trailer to the mini-tank, now hitch up to the back of the much larger half-truck, Crash Dive pushing around a few boxes of explosives to make way for a stash of ammo from the supply hangars in the air base. I sat myself in the driver’s seat, looking down over the side of the tall vehicle as Serene Steel and Sharpwing stood by to see us off, the rest of the members of the air base having gone off to their standard duties for the day. “Still wish we could fly the Stork back with us, though. You absolutely sure we can’t?”

“Not unless you trust flying back on however much booze is left in that thing's tank. Besides, I doubt it’d survive another dragon attack.” Crash Dive opened up one of the boxes of ammo in the trailer, searching through it to ensure everything was in place before securing the lid shut and hefting herself up onto the back of the half-truck. Checking that the left wing and engines from the Seafalke - so there was a sister aircraft to the Seaddler up here, who knew? - were all properly secured, she worked her way around the generator, seating herself on the back seats of the half-truck's passenger section. “You’re probably going to have a hard time keeping the ponies here from tearing Turbine apart after all that he's done to this place. You sure you can handle them?” Crash Dive asked, looking over to Serene and Sharpwing.

Sharpwing nodded, leaning onto one hoof and crossing the other in front of it. “It'll be an uphill battle, but after all that he's done we'll be able to get most o' the residents here to see that leavin' him alive and unable to fly'll be a fate worse than just killin' him. Lot of ponies lost family because o' him, we'll just make sure he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt how much pain he's caused.” Crash Dive nodded, Night Strike settling down onto the passenger seat of the half-truck, staring wistfully at the parked Stork. “Anyways, ah, sure you saw robotic dragons up there, though? ‘Cause even Static’s story seemed more reasonable, and he wasn’t even flyin’.” Night Strike nodded, and Sharpwing looked a bit more nervous. Serene waved a hoof dismissively, a small grin crossing his face.

“Bah, if zhey do decide to attack, ve have more zhan enough to repel zhem. Especially vonce ve get ze Stormvalker running again.” His grin widened as he glanced back to the workshop the hulking metal beast was still being stored in. Sharpwing rolled her eyes as I flicked the switch, the massive engine in front rumbling to life. Whoo, momma, that sounds like a -lot- more horsepower than what the mini-tank has... The red unicorn looked up to Night strike for a moment, a small smile crossing his muzzle. “Und ve can also look after ze Storch, too. Might be able to find some vay disassemble it for transit, even. Still, are you sure you don’t need anyzhing else? Ve’d be more zhan happy to help you now zhat ve have free roam again.”

Looking over my shoulder to the several dozen crates of new ammo and weapons, I tried to hide my own grin, my mind already attempting to work through how much Maple Station might be willing to pay to arm their own personal army. “Nah, I think we’re good.” Revving the engine, I turned the massive truck about, and began to trundle off towards the entrance to the airbase. Night Strike idly flicked through her Pip-Buck, the radio crackling a bit as it struggled to get a reception this far away from the station.

“-ey all you fine p--- -- -- -- -AOS, and we’re co---g in live from ou- --- --- -- the middle -- --- sea, as always. News today, at--- -- ---oov-- -owntown, was quelled --ickly by the local po---- force, not much going on else--ere. No new of the V---er Five lately, other than --- Alicorn stuck up in Maple St---on. Hope you guys --- d--- ---igh-.”

“Coming up next, the –ver famous, ---“

“Well you can --ck it, you can --- it,
You can st—and you can stro—it at the hop
When the --- starts spi---
You cha--- when -- chick—at the hop
Do the --- sensation that is ---in’ the nation at --- -op”

---

I yawned, rubbing my eyes as the headlights of the massive half-track illuminated the road in front of me, the loud engine in front droning away. The road twisted as it ran through the canyons away from Rock Ridge, the massive size of the half-truck making the journey a little more perilous. Night Strike shifted about in the seat beside me, stretching and rubbing at her own eyes as the very last hints of light faded from the sky. The front of the truck bounced as we rolled over a small rockslide on the path, jolting me awake. “Bwuh, why didn’t we decide to stop back in Rock Ridge, again?” I asked, trying to suppress another yawn as we continued. Night Strike looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow and attempting to give a firm glare of disapproval, though it didn’t come through very well through the bags under her half-open eyes. “I know, you don’t want to be reminded. I still think there could’ve been some place there that we could’ve camped out for a couple hours.”

Slapping my cheek to stay awake, my back hoof pressed down on the floor pedal, speeding us up a bit as we exited the vaster parts of the mountain range, reaching the flatter sections between them and the hotel resort. As we drove across a shallow valley, I peered off into the distance, trying to spot the hotel in the darkness. Against the starry sky, it was only visible by the lack of pinpricks of light, leaving a rectangle of inky blackness. Driving closer to the hotel, however, began to reveal the sound of clicking and chittering, a shiver of disgust running up my spine as I slowed our approach. Crash Dive sat up in the back seat, leaning over the side of the half-truck's body. Her headlamp combined with the headlights of the half-truck to reveal the barrier surrounding the hotel.

The chittering grew louder as we pulled up beside the barrier, the large engine purring quietly. I noticed something moving beneath the barrier and stopped the half-truck, motioning to draw the others’ attention to it. Night Strike pulled Thumper up, dropping a grenade into the breech as Crash Dive scanned the several hardened black legs moving about the posts of the makeshift fence. Creeping the massive half-track along the side of the fence as best as I could, easier said than done with something that weighs eighteen tons, I slowly turned the corner, and had to quickly muffle a scream of fright. An oversized scorpion turned to face the light, hissing as it snapped its powerful claws at us menacingly. Night Strike fired off her grenade, cracking the tough carapace of the scorpion. It stumbled backwards, jabbing its tail forward and clacking its pincers as it retreated behind another section of the fence.

A pair of scorpions ran out from the side of the hotel, their spindly legs digging into the dirt as they rushed forward. Crash Dive shot a bar of rebar at one, myself revving the engine of the truck to try and scare some away. Clicks and cries of pain could be heard as the solid rod of metal pierced the tail of one of the scorpions, severing it partially. It flailed about, twitching and writhing as the other ones crawled over it. “Where the hell did these come from?!” I shouted, plowing the massive half-track forwards and crushing a few of the scorpions as Night Strike sent another grenade into a grouping of them. I grabbed my umbrella in my hoof, leaning out of the tank to swat at another one of the buggers trying to climb up the side, which lunged with its tail. It froze for a moment, the electricity coursing through it from the strike. Crash Dive was able to clamber over to my side and send another bolt of rebar through its tail as it was paralyzed, sending it flying backwards from the force as it waved its pincer arms about in agony.

The remaining scorpion was attempting to crawl away, but Night Strike slid another grenade into Thumper before raising it up to look down the sights. The grenade fired with a thud, and landed directly on the scorpion’s back. It exploded, bits of the arachnid flying in all directions, with some splattering on the windshield of the half-truck I am finding myself exceedingly more thankful for. Ech, gross... The chittering stopped, though I wasn’t ready to let my guard down yet. Pulling the large vehicle to a stop outside of the hotel, we climbed out and headed inside, our weapons still at the ready. The lobby was dark, the only light coming from Night Strike and my Pip-Bucks and Crash Dive’s helmet. “You think there’s going to be more of them hanging around here?” Night Strike asked, looking around nervously.

“Maybe. Maybe that bomb that blew up the carnival disturbed a nest or something. You can always barricade the doors, you’d hear them trying to break into your room, then.” Crash Dive said in her usual dry tone. She headed up the stairs in the lobby and over into the room she'd been in previously, Night Strike and myself following her, stepping into the room we'd likewise taken originally. Wel, at least the raiders didn't move back in...

Stepping into the familiar dark room, Night Strike set Thumper down on the table before making her way over to the bed. I shut the door behind us, searching around for something to block it. Finding nothing better, I grabbed a chair behind the desk, pulling it over to lodge it underneath the knob of the door. “Suppose we should be fine. I don’t know if any of those scorpions could fit through the doors of the hotel, anyways.” I trotted over to the bed, where Night Strike had already curled up under the covers. Slipping in beside her, I curled up in bed, closing my eyes as I wrapped my hooves around her. I sighed as I slipped into the long awaited embrace of sleep, snuggling up with the dark-coated pegasus as she did the same to me. Yeah... we'll be fine.

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