//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: The Flight 
// Story: Penned IN 
// by Qwix 
//------------------------------//

	"…the best for it? There are other ponies that can watch them, surely…"
"…need as many hooves to help… Besides, he should meet as many… Spike, wake him up, will you?"
"Gotcha."
Groggy, Pennaprose heard the sounds of voices whispering animatedly somewhere nearby. Suddenly, his blanket was ripped away from him and he felt a poke to the head. Just a little annoyed, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, staring bleakly at the living room until his eyes came into focus.
Twilight was standing near the door with the mare he recalled as Rarity. Both were peering curiously at him, while Spike was holding a plate of scrambled eggs. He set the plate down and walked away.
"Morning, Pennaprose. How are you? Sleep well?" asked Twilight.
He shoveled half the eggs in one bite, finding himself hungrier than he thought. "Awight. Hangry thow. Eewps, sowwy." He swallowed. "This cot is comfy, I slept great!"
"Well, good. Now the first question. How good are you at watching fillies?" she asked.
Pennaprose set his plate down. "What's so hard about watching a microwave?"
Twilight gave him a confused look. "Um, excuse me?"
"…Uh… oh! Fillies, got it. I thought you meant Philly cheese steaks. …Why do you ask?"
She still looked a bit put-off, but continued. "Well, there's a problem. We need to keep Sweetie Belle away from Rarity's house while the party gets set up, and Pinkie's making this a big one. We need as many hooves helping just to set it up, but nopony else is available keep an eye on them. So…"
"I still can't understand why Fluttershy can't watch them!" interrupted Rarity. "The girls listen to her without a problem!"
"Except," Twilight began, "that Fluttershy is helping put up the banners. Her and Rainbow Dash are the only pegasai available that are able to help with the banners and high up decorations. Besides, it'll be a good opportunity for him to meet those three!"
Pennaprose was idly stabbing his leftover eggs with a fork. He didn't really care about the party details, but he couldn't help but feel curious at the idea of watching fillies. He dug through the fragments of his blurry human memories; he can't remember ever being that good with kids. Would watching fillies be any different?
"Anyway, it only should take a few hours to put up the decorations. In the meantime…" Twilight paused. "Pennaprose! You're going to keep an eye on Sweetie Belle while we do!"
"All right," Pennaprose said. "Where do I need to go?"
Rarity pushed her way past Twilight. "She's probably having fun with the other little crusaders, so I'd hazard a guess they're at their clubhouse. In fact, I know that's where they'd be! Come on now!" 
She trotted back out. Twilight sighed and followed her; Pennaprose glanced at his briefcase, wondering if he needed anything. Deciding against it, he followed suit.
As they moved through town, Rarity slowed down to keep pace with Pennaprose. She seemed to be sizing him up.
After a while of trotting circles around him, Pennaprose's curiosity finally broke. "Um… is there anything wrong?" She didn't seem to notice. "…uh…? Rarity? Why are you…?"
At the mention of her name, she jerked her head up in surprise. "Oh! So sorry, but I can't help but notice! You see, I've been considering making suits for stallions lately, but I haven't any proper mannequins for the occasion. I've also had no luck tracking one down in Ponyville, so if you don't mind later…?"
"Mind what now?" Pennaprose asked.
"Would you mind helping me model a few suits later? I'd need to travel clear out to Manehatten to get a proper mannequin, but the trains aren't running there until next week!" she said with zeal. "And I simply cannot wait until then!"
He considered. It seemed harmless enough… besides the fact he barely knew this pony. But what harm could come of it? It's not like he had anything else planned. "Uh, sure. When would that be?"
She sped up to a trot in front of him. "After today's festivities! Or first thing tomorrow morning, depending."
"Depending on what?"
"On how much of a mess there is by the end, of course," she said. "You don't mind, do you Twilight?"
Twilight, who was trotting behind them, looked up. "Hm… I don't see why not…? Sure, but for future's reference, you don't need to ask me, Rarity."
Rarity rolled her eyes in derision. "Riiiight. He's living with you for the time being, so shouldn't it be your job to make sure he doesn't wander off into trouble?"
"He's not Spike, for hoof's sake. I'm sure he can stay out of trouble without my help."
"Eheheh. Just teasing, darling!"
Pennaprose stared out onto the road ahead of him, the voices beside him muffling out of disinterest. He couldn't help but let his mind wander; blurry images of a mountain kept appearing in his imagination. He blinked and shook his head in irritation. There was no mountain ahead of him, but in his mind the horizon rose before him.
Like a wall to surmount.







The three of them arrived at a bright red shabby treehouse, the sounds of laughter and a hammer dully echoing from inside. Rarity stopped, looked up for a second, then turned around to face Twilight.
"Alright, here's the plan. I'll tell them that I'll be in Canterlot to meet a client this afternoon and I'll be home around… let's say 7. That way she won't go looking for me at home until then. Is that enough time, Twilight?"
Twilight raised a hoof to her mouth, pondering. "Hm… Between Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy, and a few other hooves, we should be done by then."
"Alright. Now, Pennaprose, a few warnings," Rarity said. "Sweetie is a real, er... sweetie, but with her crusader friends, the three of them can be a real hoof full. All you need to do is keep them occupied for the next 5 or so hours, away from my house. We'll send somepony to get you four when we're ready, okay?"
Pennaprose nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. At least I hope I can."
"Then that's that." She turned back to the treehouse. "Sweetie!"
The dull thuds of the hammer stopped. From the balcony appeared three heads; an orange one with a mane of magenta, a yellow one wearing a large bow on her bright red mane, and finally a white unicorn with pale pink and purple hair. "Oh, hi sis. What'cha doin'?"
"Sweetie, I just wanted to let you know that I received a call from an important client in Canterlot. I'm not going to be home until about 7 tonight. I'm gonna lock the door, so if there's anything you need, get it now."
The unicorn named Sweetie Belle answered in a squeak. "M'kay, whatever." The three of them ducked back into the treehouse.
"Oh, and Sweetie?"
"What?"
"Just so you know, I've hired a sitter. I couldn't find anypony else, so he's going to keep an eye on you while I'm out."
Sweetie poked her head back out, quickly followed by a flying hammer. "Uh… I'm not that young. I don't need a sitter–"
"Oh, humor me, pleeeease?" Rarity simpered.
Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Fiiiiiine." She glanced at Pennaprose. "That him? Hey, Applebloom, are you thinking what I'm thinking…?"
The yellow filly appeared above Sweetie's head. "That the Cutie-Mark-Crusaders-Hammer-Time plan isn't going anywhere?"
"Nah. Stopping every five seconds ain't gonna help it either," responded Sweetie. "But we're running out of ideas for today. We are, at least. Get my draft?"
"Your draft? Isn't that a racing move, Scoots?"
"That's drift," said the orange filly.
"Isn't that a bargaining thing?" said Sweetie.
"That's thrift," answered Applebloom. "You really aren't doing your dictionary rep any favors."
"I'm not a dictionary!" squeaked Sweetie. "I thought we established that!"
"Anyways," interjected Rarity. "I really should get going, lest I miss the train! See you later tonight!"
Rarity trotted off, followed by Twilight. Pennaprose watched them for a while, a feeling of uncertainty beginning to creep. I'm barely adjusted to the fact I'm a horse, he thought. How the heck am I supposed to do this? Twilight trusts me too much...
"Hey. Hey, you're the sitter, aren't you? Rarity must have a thing for you… What's your name?"
Pennaprose jumped a little. The three fillies had dropped from the tree house and were circling him in interest. "Come again? What was the first bit?"
"Oh, come on," said Sweetie Belle. "White coat, unicorn; I know my sister. She's picky about appearance. She wouldn't even think about letting anyone play sitter besides herself or Fluttershy without a reason. She either likes you or just wants something from you. Or both. So… are you going to talk, or do we have to make you talk?"
He raised an eyebrow. Despite her appearance, she seemed to be older than she was implied. "…I'm Pennaprose. And I… don't really know what you're talking about. I already agreed to help model a few suits for her, but–"
"There it is. All right, you pass. Now… Scoots? Applebloom? Shall we?" said Sweetie Belle.
"Een-deed!" exclaimed Applebloom.
"Yeah! I'll need to find my skis though…" remarked Scootaloo.
"Then let the Cutie-Mark-Crusaders-Mark-Our-Words plan commence!"
The three of them shot back to the tree, the sound of giggling filling the air.
Maybe I'm worrying to much, he thought to himself. They seem rational enough to stay out of trouble. This might be easy enough. Yeah…


…whirrclankBANGBANGclickclickclackbzzz…
...ding.


The sounds of construction stopped, a thin trail of smoke issuing from the lone window. Then, suddenly, a bundle of planks shot out from it, barely grazing the top of his head. It collided with the tree behind him while a jackhammer was pushed out the door right afterword, planting itself in the ground.
...Nope. I'm so boned.







"…Hey. Think we overdid it with the boosters?"
"Nah. Ah diagnose the problem as a lack of brake and headlight fluid. Also, ah still vote for the horn being a cowbell. Whaddya think, Sweetie?"
"I think we shouldn't have swerved and nearly run him over. Isn't he supposed to be foalsitting us? Doin' a great job of that while unconscious."
"…Huh?"
Pennaprose's eyes flittered open. He was lying on the ground, the three fillies hovering over him. "Ugh… I knew that was a bad idea." He glanced to his left; an incorrigible heap of planks in front of a bent tree was smoking slightly.
"Remind me how you convinced me that building a race-car was a good idea?"
"We promised we were only going to try to see if we could get our Cutie Marks in NASCOLT maintenance?" said Applebloom
"You caved after we promised not to use the boosters to its max?" suggested Scootaloo.
"We bribed you?" said Sweetie Belle.
He stood up, rubbing the side of his face. He remembered getting grazed by the wing mirror at 90 miles an hour, but whatever happened before that was frustratingly fuzzy. "Well… the damage is done. I don't think anything is broken… living at least. C'mon, let's clean this up."
He looked up at the sun in the sky. By his judgement, it was only 4 o'clock or so. Another 3 hours left...
"…Hey."
Pennaprose paused. Scootaloo was staring at the wreck with a glint in her eyes that sent shivers up his spine.
"It might not be a race-car… but what about… we get a ramp… and some wings–"
"Uh, NO," interjected Pennaprose. The shout made him involuntarily twitch in pain. "I've already been lenient on activities, but that sounds like a death wish. How'd you even escape the crash?!"
"Muffin-shaped eject button," said Applebloom. "See, we planned that out ahead of time. We aren't complete foals. Some parts are missing."
"LIke the steering wheel that's in the branches," quipped Scootaloo. "Pleeeeese? I've worked on schematics and stuff, I want to fly!"
Pennaprose grimaced in silence as Scootaloo brandished a sheaf of blue papers from seemingly nowhere. He glanced over them; notes scribbled every which way, calculations for wind, weight, material costs… it seemed well-thought out. Despite his better judgement, perhaps in the wake of a high-speed concussion…
"Er… fine. But I'm not going to let you three pilot this thing alone. Not after that–"  he pointed at the heap of smoking wood. "–mess. If I did, she would likely kill me…"
"YAY!" the three of them screamed.
Pennaprose twitched again. Whatever gods rule this place, he wished, place have mercy on my fool self.







2 and a half hours later, it stood before the four of them. The previous wreckage of the race-car was salvaged and put out, built back into the hull of a small 4-seater plane. It was mostly wood, but its patchwork hull of nails and splinters was glossed by a coating of sealant.
There actually wasn't enough wood from the race-car, so they cleared a few trees away and used their fresh wood for the most important parts and the ramp built and placed at the end.
"Alright!" said Scootaloo triumphantly. "The Bellabloo Regard Cutiequaloo Mobile, Cutie MK II is finished! Time for its test flight!"
"Resurrected from the MK I Racer!" chimed Sweetie Belle.
"Powered by something I found in the barn!" added Applebloom.
"Ahoy, skies above! We fly today! …But first, a flight check! Goggles!" said Scootaloo.
"They do nothing!" said Sweetie Belle.
"Landing gear?"
"Workin' and currently deployed!" responded Applebloom.
"Fuel?"
"Filled to maximum!" quipped Sweetie Belle.
"All right!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Everything is in place! Let's fly!"
The three of them climbed into the seats, Applebloom taking one of the back. Pennaprose steeled himself, climbing into the back seat next to Applebloom. Wait… if I wanted to be certain about this, shouldn't I be driving this thing? …Wait, bad idea, he thought. I can't fly a plane. Heck, I'm barely used to being a pony. How do I hooves again?
"Ignition!"
Applebloom reached behind her seat and fiddled with something. A humming noise emitted and began to grow in strength.
"Propeller!"
Scootaloo smashed a button on the dash with a forehoof; the engine buzzed louder and the propeller on the nose of the plane began to spin.
"Begin the taxi sequence!"
The plane jerked forward, then began to pick up speed.
"Applebloom! Level 1 boosters!"
"On it!" she replied.
She reached back behind her seat again. Without warning, the slow crawl changed to a rapid pace, the sounds of the engine becoming nearly deafening when paired with the wind. Pennaprose grabbed the side instinctively; in mere moments, they hit the ramp, propelling the craft into the air.
"It works! It works!"
The wind whistled through Pennaprose's mane; he peeked his head over the side as the plane gained height. Paths through the apple trees twisted into a cross hatch, the ground itself melding into splashes of green and brown.
He glanced up, over the horizon; from this high he could spot the large tree that was Twilight's home, the mayor's office, even several multicolor dots around town that he took to be various ponies. Red, orange, seafoam green, dark grey, magenta…
"Anypony want an inflight snack?"
Applebloom pulled out a sealed bin full of apples from underneath the front seat; they were all polished and ready for eating. She handed one to Sweetie Belle before offering one to Pennaprose.
"Ah know about the party," said Applebloom.
"…Heh?" said Pennaprose, apple half plugging his mouth. He looked at her in blank shock.
"Don'tcha worry about it. I overheard it from mah sister Applejack talkin' to Big Mac yesterday."
"Then why did you–"
"–Pretend ah didn't? And what, ruin the surprise? If it helps, ah didn't tell the others. …At least, it won't matter anyways if I tell the others by this point. When's the party, half an hour?"
He regarded her closely, then glanced at the other two. Sweetie had grabbed the apple bin and was casually dropping slices off the side while Scootaloo was busy concentrating on flying.
"…All right, but don't tell anypony I told you. It's a secret to everypony. …At 7, or whenever somepony comes to get us–" He straightened up in sudden shock. "…How are they going to find us now?" He glanced off the side reflexively, towards the Golden Oaks Library in the distance.
"Why do ya think she's droppin' apple slices off the side? Though I told her we need to bomb the ground with apple slices to make up for the trees we cleared for wood," explained Applebloom. "Renewable resources, or something. It's actually a trail of bread crumbs, except it's apples."
"Incoming on port!"
They both looked to the right. "Where's the Income Ingon: Goldhoof port for the XBucks One? Are you hallucinating? That doesn't come out for another month!" asked Sweetie Belle.
"No, to the left!" yelled Scootaloo.
Everypony but Scootaloo looked to the left.
SMACK.
The plane tilted to the left to a great degree before righting itself again. "What was that?!" asked Applebloom. "Did we hit a rainbow or something?"
"Um…" said Scootaloo. "…approximately a dash of it."
Pennaprose craned his neck to look where Scootaloo was. Plastered on the left of the plane's body was a mess of blue feathers and trails of rainbow colored hair. After staring at it for a solid five seconds as it ruffled around, he recognized the mess of feathers as Rainbow Dash. He used his magic to extract her from the plane while Applebloom crawled under the front seat to make room. Her mane was darkened by some black substance.
"Ugh… Wha… what the heck?!" she said angrily. "Somepony put a whatever-this-is in my sky-way! Wait–" she said as she swiveled her head back and forth. "–there you four are! Hey Pennaprose, the all-clear is given. They sent me to find you. Didn't expect to find you four in the air, though."
Scootaloo turned around, letting the steering wheel just kinda do its own thing for a second. "Dash? Hey! Who sent who? What? …I'm flying!"
Dash glanced at the plane in general. "Do tell… um… I'd ask how with a hole in the side where my head was a second ago, but I don't even understand how this thing is airborne in the first place."
"Uh…" said Applebloom from underneath the seat. "Is the fuel pipe supposed to be empty?"
"No. Wait… why does the tank going down? I thought we filled the thing!"
As one, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash, who was wiping the black substance off her mane. "Wait, why are all looking at me? Did I miss some? Hold on…"
Pennaprose looked at the hole in the side of the plane. It was plastered with the black stuff, while there was a definite streak of black going along the trees behind them. Only one thing came to Pennaprose's mind. 
I should have asked for money.
The sounds of the engine died out completely, letting the wind roar to it's fullest. It roared even harder as the plane began to loose height. "Time to bail!" said Dash.
Scootaloo climbed over the seat and onto Dash's back while she grabbed Sweetie and Applebloom, taking off towards the ground.
Aaaaand now I'm screwed, Pennaprose thought. Ah… I came to this world as a fire ball, that's how I'm leaving, I guess. …I wonder if I should have written a will on my laptop. …I wonder if my corpse will get yelled at for letting a kid drive a plane. Does Equestria have zoning permits? I get the impression that this place doesn't have planes normally–


BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM