After their near-death experience in the Himalayas, Dusty and Rainbow had finally claimed the two top spots in the race. From that point on, they held onto their lead as they raced for their next checkpoint; China.
"Flying low and quick, Dusty Crophopper and Rainbow Dash are managing to hold on to the top spots. But, current reigning champ, Ripslinger, is just seconds behind them."
"This surprise battle for first place has made Dusty Crophopper and Rainbow Dash the ones to watch. They have become working-class heroes around the globe."
That was no exaggeration from Brent. Spectators from all over the world were were completely focused on our favorite crop duster and pegasus as they lead the pack. Even the regulars in the bar from earlier.
"I told you they could it." One customer said triumphantly. No one paid any mind, though.
Videos began popping up on the internet of the racing duo dominating the competition. Almost every tablet in exists was playing such videos. Well, except one that was currently being crushed by an infuriated Ripslinger.
"That's it." Ripslinger growled.
"Ah, that was my Skypad, man." Zed whined.
"Ugh. A new one is coming out in two weeks." Ripslinger said.
Zed continued to whimper.
Shanghai, China
Dusty and Rainbow were, once again, talking with their friends on the radio.
"You're really showing them big-time racers a thing or two, huh?" Skipper asked.
"You bet! We're making them look like amateurs out there." Rainbow boasted.
"Yeah, we head out across the Pacific tomorrow, Skip. You were stationed there for a while, right?" Dusty asked.
"...Yeah." Skipper replied warily.
"Got any advice?" Dusty asked.
"We don't need advice, Dusty. We got this in the bag like we always do." Rainbow said confidently.
"Even so, it doesn't hurt to ask." Dusty replied.
Skipper chuckled at their antics.
"Back in '41, during the Battle over Wake Island the Wrenches ran into serious monsoons with embedded CBs that could tear your wings right off." Skipper said.
The Main 7 all gasped at the graphic information. Then, Rainbow did a double-take.
"Hold on, what's a monsoon?" She asked in confusion.
"It's a seasonal prevailing wind in the South and Southeast regions of Asia. They can be really dangerous if you're not careful." Skipper explained.
"That sounds...really bad." Fluttershy said worriedly.
Dusty gulped.
"Like I said, they can be, but they aren't impossible to get through." Skipper said.
"I'm sure we can get through a...monsoon. I mean, we literally flew through a tunnel in a mountain. A monsoon shouldn't be that much difficult." Rainbow said coolly.
"Famous last words." Spike whispered to himself.
"And one more thing...I'm proud of you, Dusty and Rainbow.” Skipper added.
"We're all proud of you both." Twilight added.
"Thanks, everypony...or everycreature." Rainbow said.
"Thanks, wingman." Dusty said.
"Hey, Dusty, Rainbow, we have a surprise for you." Dottie said.
"Oh, that's right." Rarity remembered their little announcement. "We were go-"
"Oh, oh, oh! You have to let me tell them." Chug said excitedly.
"Oh, well, by me guest, darling." Rarity said.
"Um. I know it. It's...it's on the tip of my tongue. I'll remember." Chug was struggling to remember.
"We're going..." Dottie started off.
"We're going..." Chug followed.
"-to..."
"-to..."
"Malay-"
"Mexico." Dottie finished.
"Mexico! That's it! We're gonna meet you two in Mexico." Chug exclaimed happily.
"That's right. We've all been wanting to see you two again. I now we're finally getting the chance." Twilight added happily.
"I've missed you so much, Rainbow." Fluttershy said.
"We've all missed ya, Dash. You too, Dusty." Applejack said.
"YEAH! Once we get there, I'm going to throw the biggest Dusty-and-Rainbow-Dash-are-in-first-place party ever!" Pinkie squealed.
"Really!?" The two racers exclaimed in surprise.
"Yup, tickets are on Sparky and me." Chug explained. "We sold 326 Dusty and Rainbow bobbleheads, 143 antenna balls, 203 spinner mugs..."
"And 1,000 whistles. Go, team Dusterino and Dasherino! Yeah!" Sparkly exclaimed.
"That's awesome, you guys." Rainbow said excitedly. "Wait, you made merchandise of us?"
"Sure did. Gotta get the sponsorship somehow." Sparky replied.
“We’re sponsored?” Rainbow muttered to herself.
"You sure you're up for it, Skipper?" Dusty asked.
"You bet. Somebody else is doing the flying." Skipper said enthusiastically.
"That's great guys. I'll see you in Mexico." Dusty said.
"Can't wait to see you all again. I've missed you all, too." Rainbow said.
"You're softness is showing, Rainbow." Spike teased.
"Oh, shut it, Spike." Rainbow said annoyed.
"I'll bring the salsa." Sparky said.
(Later that evening)
Dusty and Rainbow were strolling through the airport when they heard a commotion going on in one of the hangars. The doors swung open and out came a determined El Chupacabra.
"Woah there, buddy." Rainbow quickly hopped out of the racer’s way.
"Hey, El Chu, where's the fire?" Dusty asked.
"It is in my soul. Tonight, I shall win the heart of Miss Rochelle." El Chupacabra said romantically.
He zipped towards Rochelle's temporary living quarters. Once there, spotlights shined down on the Mexican racer. El Chupacabra turned on his radio, which began playing a rowdy, Mexican beat.
(All rights go to Disney)
El Chupucabra sang away with his "romantic" song. Rochelle heard the loud music and was having none of it.
"No, no, no. A thousand no's." She said irritably.
All the other planes in the vicinity had their hangars closed to deafen the cacophony of Mexican lyrics. Including Rochelle.
"He doesn't know anything about romantic music." Rainbow said.
"Something tells me that neither would you. But, I have an idea." Dusty said.
El Chu continued to sing until the lights and radio cut off leaving him just singing to himself.
(Pause at 0:22)
"I'm just a love...machine? Que Paso?" The Mexican racer was left wondering where the romantic atmosphere had gone.
He looked along the cord of the radio to see Dusty had pulled the plug.
"Dusty, what are you doing?" El Chupacabra asked in disbelief.
Just then a group of Mexican instrument players arrived and started playing the exact same song El Chupacabra was singing earlier. However, this rhythm was slower, calmer, and romantic. They surrounded El Chupacabra. He looked over to Dusty for an explanation.
"Low and slow." Dusty said simply.
A forklift wrote on a board that said "How low can you go?" before changing it to "Mas Suave."
"Just roll with it, dude." Rainbow said.
El Chupacabra got the memo and started from the beginning.
(Continue onwards)
As the song continued, Rochelle opened the doors, taking in the new tune. A warm smile began to form on her face. Dusty and the forklift were lightly swaying from side to side to the beat. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
After the song had come to a close, El Chupacabra made a final statement.
"Buenos noches, gathita." He said.
"Monsieur, El chu...From a rogue to tres romantique." She giggled, then closed the doors a final time.
El Chupacabra was left a little confused.
"What does that mean?" He asked to Dusty.
"No idea. But, French Canadian is the language of love...in Quebec. So, it's got to be good." Dusty said.
"How do you even know that?" Rainbow ask incredulously.
"I think I heard it from someone else." Dusty replied bluntly.
"I'm in your debt, compadres. If ever you need me, I shall be there." El Chupacabra said.
"Compadres. I like that." Dusty said.
"Oddly, so do I." Rainbow said.
(The next day)
"You are looking live at Pudong Shanghai International Airport." Brent Mustangburger announced.
While announcements were going on, Ripslinger was angrily looking at the placement board, eyeing the two racers ahead of him.
"Yep, first and second place. Not too bad for a farm boy." Dusty taunted
"Or a farm animal." Rainbow added mockingly.
They both zipped away. Rainbow blew a raspberry at the seething airplane.
"Oh, yeah? Well, first place is for losers." Zed yelled in defiance.
"Can it, moron." Ripslinger said angrily.
He kicked an oil can right onto Zed's head.
"Ow!" Zed grunted, while Ned laughed in amusement.
"Now, listen up. It's time to make yourselves useful." Ripslinger said.
The twins looked at each other. They knew where this was going.
Meanwhile, at the starting line, Dusty and Rainbow were readying themselves for takeoff when El Chupacabra rolled along side them breathing heavily and with kiss marks all over his body.
"What happened to you?" Dusty asked with concern.
"Do we really want to know?" Rainbow asked obviously uncomfortable.
"That song. It flipped a switch." El Chupacabra croaked.
As if the prove his point, Rochelle caught him by the cape and dragged him towards her.
"My little monster. Come here." She said.
The poor Mexican racer was like a prey animal to the Rochelle as she covered him with more kisses.
"Yeah, to much information." Rainbow groaned.
She looked over at the spectators on the other side of the fence. It was clear that they were having a ball with this. El Chupacabra crawled back over to Dusty and Rainbow.
"She is like a jaguar now." He wheezed.
"Ah, ah, ah, my little burrito." She said dragging him back again.
"Be gentle with me!" El Chupacabra squeaked.
"Start your engines!" The announcer called.
Dusty and Rainbow got into position.
Once the green flag lowered, the racers were on their way to Mexico. It wasn't long for them to reach the blue vastness of the Pacific ocean.
"This is our sixth and longest leg. There racers will need to follow their GPS antennas because there's a big ocean between here and Mexico."
Dusty and Rainbow were holding there own out there. It was nothing but blue as far as the eye can see. They didn't see, however, were Ned and Zed back behind them. The twins looked at each other with devious smirks on their faces. Zed descended down towards the two. He lined up for what he was about to do.
Rainbow had an uneasy feeling growing in her core. It felt like something bad was about to happen. She turned her head to see that one of Ripslinger's hench-planes was bearing down on Dusty.
"Dusty, look out!" Rainbow warned, but it was too late.
Zed struck Dusty in the back. The force of the impact snapped Dusty's antenna clean off. There was no time Rainbow or Dusty as the antenna plunged into the waters below.
"My antenna!" Dusty cried.
they needed that antenna, otherwise, they were pretty much lost in the middle of the largest ocean in the world. Zed made his getaway.
"You flying snot! You'll pay for that!" Rainbow said in fury
Every fiber in her being told her to chase after Zed to enact revenge. But, she knew that she couldn't leave Dusty behind. Speaking of who, Dusty was too busy panicking to even notice Zed flying away.
"Oh, no! No! No! What am I going to do?" He said to himself.
"It's alright, Dusty. All we need to do is try and look for some land." Rainbow reassured.
"How are we supposed to do that if we have no idea where we are. We can't fly forever and we now don't have the one thing that allows us to communicate to other people." Dusty said exasperated.
"Let's try making contact anyway." Rainbow said.
For the next several hours, Dusty and Rainbow made call after call trying to re-establish contact with anyone.
"Last known coordinates, 26 degrees, 31 minutes, Hawaii, are you there?" Dusty asked.
Static
"Do you read? I'm low on fuel." He tried again.
Static.
"Can anypony hear us?" Rainbow tried.
Static.
"Gawh, this isn't working." Rainbow yelled in frustration.
To make matters worse, Dusty was running out of fuel, fast. Rainbow, herself, was getting more and more tired from the constant flying.
"Oh, no! Oh, boy." Dusty gulped.
The warning light on his fuel gauge was blaring like crazy.
"We'll think we something, Dusty. Don't worry." Rainbow said trying to comfort her friend.
It was hard not to be worried at the moment. Dusty and Rainbow were pretty much just minutes away from becoming lifeboats for themselves in the salty waters below. Then, without warning, a large F-18F Super Hornet fighter jet descended right behind Dusty and Rainbow, startling them both.
"Unknown rider, unknown rider. You have entered restricted airspace. Why haven't you responded to radio contact?" The fighter jet asked authoritatively.
"What in Equestria?!" Rainbow yelled, her tone implying that she was scared.
"Somebody cut off my antenna." Dusty said panicked.
"Identify yourselves." The jet demanded.
"I'm Dusty Crophopper." Dusty answered.
"I'm Rainbow Dash." Rainbow followed.
"Roger that. Bogies have been identified as Crophopper seven and Dash twenty." The jet responded.
"I'm running on vapors. We need to land." Dusty said desperately.
"What are you doing out here with an empty tank?" A second fighter jet asked, pulling alongside them.
Both Dusty and Rainbow were startled yet again.
"We got lost. That Zed jerk broke Dusty's antenna." Rainbow explained.
"And I thought I'd refuel in Hawaii but..." Dusty added.
"What? Hawaii is 375 miles southwest of here." The first jet pointed out.
"What!? Seriously?" Rainbow shouted in disbelief.
"Listen, Crophopper, Dash. You better follow us to the boat. No bingo fields around here." The second jet said.
"We don't have time for bingo. That's for older creatures anyway." Rainbow said frustrated.
"No, bingo fields. Places to land." The second jet clarified.
"The boat?" Dusty asked.
"The USS Dwight D. Flysenhower." The first jet said.
"Bravo, checking in as frag plus two. Check two." Bravo communicated with a controller as they neared the carrier.
"Go ahead, Bravo." The controller responded
"Bogies are civilians. One in need of emergency fuel." Bravo explained.
"Copy that." The controller affirmed.
"For flying out loud! That's all I need, a civilian exploding on my deck." The captain vented.
"We could rig the barricade, sir." The controller offered.
The captain seemed to be in agreement.
"All engines, ahead flank." The captain commanded.
"Aye, Captain. All engines ahead flank. Rig the barricade." The controller communicated to the sergeant.
"Copy that. Rig the barricade! Chop-chop. Hubba-hubba." The sergeant barked.
"Let's line you up for the barricade. All you have to do is throttle on back and call the ball and hopefully end up in the spaghetti?" Bravo explained.
"Why must you guys use nonsensical terms." Exclaimed Rainbow in frustration.
Then she remembered she didn't really need a runway or anything. She could literally just plant her hooves onto the ground. Dusty, on the other had...
"What? Wait, no wait! Wait a second! Guys I'm not sure I can do this." Dusty said uneasily.
"I don't see how you have a choice." Echo pointed out.
"Okay, but that runway is moving." Dusty said.
"We'll set you up on the glide path." Bravo reassured.
"Runways are not supposed to move!" Dusty shouted in fear.
"Stop being such a baby, Dusty. I know you can do it." Rainbow said.
They circled the carrier until Dusty was in position for landing.
"Okay. I'm okay. I'm going to be fine." Dusty tried to calm himself.
"Calm down, man" Rainbow said.
"Take it easy." Echo said.
"Moving runway, moving runway. There it is. Here we go." Dusty was practically hyperventilating at this point.
They got closer and closer.
"Throttle on back." Bravo said.
"Maybe if I just came around again." Dusty wailed.
"It's now or never, Dusty." Rainbow shouted.
"Level your wings." Bravo said.
"Easy with it." Echo assured.
Just as everyone thought that Dusty was about to slam into the carrier's back. He pulled up at the last second. His tires slammed onto the tarmac, his back landing gear caught onto the tailhook. Dusty closed his eyes, preparing for the impact into the net. But, then he came to a sudden halt just inches from the barricade.
Dusty opened his eyes to see he was perfectly fine. There was a still silence before the deck erupted into celebration. Dusty was still breathing heavily as Rainbow landed right next to him. Just in time for it to start raining.
"See I told ya you could do it." Rainbow said resting her front left hoof on Dusty's wing.
"We got you Crophopper. You too, Dash." The sergeant said.
After everything was situated, Dusty, Rainbow, Bravo, and Echo were lowered into the carrier's hull.
"Come on, let's get you guys fixed up, refueled, and back in the race. You two are way behind." Echo said.
"Aw, man. So much for are first and second place leads." Rainbow pouted.
"Just be happy we're still alive, Rainbow." Dusty said. "Thanks guys. You saved our tails out there."
"I admit it, we owe you guys." Rainbow.
"You don't owe us anything. Just doing our jobs is all." Echo said.
"Victory!" Bravo said.
"Victory!" Dusty said.
"Victory!" Rainbow said.
As the elevator came to a stop, Dusty and Rainbow noticed a large board with pictures of other fighter planes on them.
"Hey, what's that?" Dusty asked in curiosity.
"That's the Jolly Wrenches Wall of Fame." Bravo said.
"Every flyer, every mission." Echo added.
"Ohhh, like how the Wonderbolts have pictures of their top flyers?" Rainbow asked in excitement.
"Wonderbolts?” Bravo asked confused.
"Ugh, never mind. I'll explain later." Rainbow groaned.
Dusty was busy looking for one particular plane.
"Oh. Ha, ha, there he is." Dusty said as his eyes set upon Skipper's picture.
Both he and Rainbow looked under the picture to find that there was only one mission he did; Glendal Canal.
"Only one mission?" Rainbow said confused.
"Wait. I don't understand. Why is there only one mission?" Dusty was equally confused.
(Propwash Junction)
"Chug, what's all that?" Dottie asked, eye the two whole trollies of luggage Chug was carrying.
"Well, I've never been out of the country. You know, I brought the Commodiom. Whatever you do, don't drink the pertol." Chug said.
"We'll only be gone fer two days, sugarcube." Applejack said.
"Gotta be prepared, right? Got beachwear, dinner wear, underwear..." He droned on.
"Seems like overkill to me." Spike said.
Twilight nodded in agreement.
Just then, there was call from the radio. Skipper and Sparky were the only ones in the hangar.
"Skipper? Come in, Skipper." Dusty called.
"Dusty! We're heading off to Mexico right now. Glad you and Rainbow got their safely. Weather report says a major storm is brewing out there." Skipper answered.
On the other side, Dusty and Rainbow were preparing themselves to head out from the carrier.
"Yeah, about that second part." Rainbow said.
"We're not in Mexico. We're with the Jolly Wrenches." Dusty said.
A sense of dread overcame Skipper at that moment. Sparky was equally worried.
"You're on the Flysenhower?" Skipper asked almost not wanting to believe it.
"To make a long story short, one of Ripslinger's goons broke Dusty's antenna. We got lost and Dusty was running out of fuel. It was just are luck Bravo and Echo found us and led us to the boat." Rainbow explained.
"Hey, I saw the Wall of Fame. They only list one mission for you." Dusty said.
"Yeah, what's up with that? You said you went on tons of missions." Rainbow said.
Skipper was getting more anxious. He made an effort to reroute the current situation.
"Dusty, Rainbow, if you're not past that storm yet, you need-" He tried to say.
"That can't be right. It must be a mistake." Dusty said.
"Look, you two have to get out of there. You're going to have to fly high." Skipper tried to advise.
"The fact that you're dodging our questions means that you are hiding something, Skips." Rainbow said eerily.
"Listen to me, get above the storm!" Skipper yelled.
"Skipper, is it true?" Dusty asked, getting more frustrated.
"It's true!"
That simple statement sent shockwaves throughout Dusty and Rainbow. It was almost as if they found out their lives were nothing but lies, which wasn't too far from the truth.
"It's true. I only flew one mission." Skipper said dejectedly.
“I can't believe this. You lied to us!" Rainbow accused.
"But...But, all those stories." Dusty said.
"Crophopper, Dash, we got weather moving in fast. You've got to take off before it's too late." The captain warned.
"I just need one second." Dusty complained,
"Dusty. What's going on-"
The captain cut the call short.
"That's a negative, son. You don't go now, you don't go at all." The captain warned.
"We'll have to deal with this later. Come on, Dusty." Rainbow said as they headed for the elevator.
Just then, the PA system went off.
"Be advised, the JTWC has issued a tropical cyclone formation alert for the northeast Pacific ocean. Area of convection is located 500 nautical miles east-northeast of Hawaii."
They reached top deck to discover it had already become a torrential downpour.
"Just our luck." Rainbow groaned.
She did not like her feathers getting wet.
"Report to catapult two." A rigger ordered them.
Dusty and Rainbow made their way over the the catapult.
"The cat will take you from zero to 160 knots in two seconds." The rigger explained.
"Two seconds." Dusty slack-jawed.
"That's so awesome." Rainbow said with excitement.
"We're going to check your weight and set up the steam pressure. Remember, climb straight ahead once you get airborne." The rigger continued.
"Got it." Rainbow affirmed.
"Get above the storm." He emphasized the point.
"Okay, engine full throttle. Nod to the shooter when you're ready." Echo said.
Dusty did as he was told and pushed his engine to the max.
"Go win it for the Wrenches, Dusty and Rainbow. Volo Pro Vertias!" Bravo encouraged.
That motto. "Volo Pro Vertias." "I fly for truth." It was Skipper that first told them that saying. At that point, it felt poetic and defined who Skipper was. But, now, it felt meaningless. Every story Skipper told was a lie. It felt insulting, offensive, almost as if the veteran stabbed them in the back. Dusty and Rainbow were left conflicted on the motto now. However, now wasn't the time for questioning poetic statements. They needed to get back into the race.
"Head wind's good. Pressure's good." The shooter said.
Dusty nodded to the shooter.
"Go on cat two." The shooter.
The rigger signaled for the go-ahead. With the push of a button, Dusty was catapulted down the runway like a rocket. And just like that, he was already in the air and climbing. Rainbow galloped down the runway and took off after Dusty. Her mind, however, was not in the best place.
"I got a bad feeling about this."
(To Be Continued)