"See any of 'em?"
"Nah." Twilight spied outside the window of Apple Fritter's house. "Looks like they haven't followed us."
"Good. Now, what are we gonna do? They're lookin' for you Twi!"
The ponies had all gone to Apple Fritter's house where Applejack's cousin had offered to let them stay for the weekend. Beyond the encounter with the griffons however, the absence of Apple Fritter due to the Witness Protection Program and the fact that the place was ransacked unnerved Applejack. Rarity had already fixed the damages and had even replaced the glass with good speed. With that done, the unicorn retired for the night along with Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. None of it wasn't enough to calm Applejack.
Rainbow Dash had explained to her and the others that the griffons were part of one of the local gangs. Los Pegasus, while home to a lot of stars and moving pictures, was quite the seedy city when the lights went out. Before she had to go back to base, she offered her words of advice: Don't go out alone, don't go out at night, and don't make eye contact. Applejack however was not taking any chances, for she and Twilight were guarding the others for tonight if the griffons had followed them home. The conspicuous lack of griffons was only putting her on edge even further.
Twlight leaned back from the window and looked over at Applejack. "Well, I do admit, it's a little strange."
"Strange nothin', they must be after that rocket." Applejack pointed to the rocket, sitting on a table in the kitchen and apparently disassembled by Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was working quite diligently on drawing up blueprints and taking notes on the inner workings of the rockets, which weirded Applejack out even further. Not once in the past couple of days did Pinkie even say the word "party". Applejack sighed. "Look, Twi, we gotta get rid of it. Turn it over to the authorities at least."
"I don't think we can do that, Applejack. At least not now."
Applejack stumbled on her words for a second, completely flabbergasted. "Not now!?" Did you see the way they almost cooked that pony!?"
"Applejack, I understand your concern." Twilight really did mull over what would have happened had she not done anything about it. She cringed just thinking about it. However, her reasoning amounted to thus. "Think about Fluttershy."
"Ah am thinking about Fluttershy, Twi. But this here rocket and those griffons an' all this somesuch, somepony's gonna get hurt! Why don't we ask Princess Celestia-" Twilight shoved her hoof into Applejack, now looking extremely terrified.
"We can't do that."
Applejack slapped Twilight's hoof out of her mouth. "Why not?"
"If we do, Princess Celestia will think I can't handle things myself! And then I'll get sent to back to magic kindergarden! And then they'll laugh at me!" Twilight was starting to get that crazed look about her. Applejack sighed, she knew what happened the last time she underestimated Princess Celestia's tolerance for failure.
"Twi, I think you're overreacting."
Twilight chewed on her hoof nervously. "Maybe." Twilight walked away from the window and sat down in the rocking chair. "Look, if Fluttershy says we can use this thing to raise money, I'm inclined to believe her. Honestly, I think it is stealing, but how else will we make that kind of money?"
"Through honest hard work? Maybe we can just ask somepony for a loan? Look, there's nothing wrong with relying on others for help."
"Yeah. I am amazed though, this rocket is..." Twilight shook her head, grinning. "It's phenomenal!"
"Look, Twi. Just promise me one thing alright, one thing. We return this thing after this flying circus business!"
Twilight nodded. As sad as it made her to give up something as revolutionary as the rocket, friendship came before progress. "I promise, Applejack."
Twilight and Applejack returned to the windows. They could smell a fresh brew of coffee from the kitchen, Pinkie must be making some for them. They might not be able to get much sleep tonight anyway, unlike Rarity, Fluttershy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Fluttershy however, stood at the top of the stairs, unseen by the two. How long she stood there she didn't know. She'd only wanted to come down and say something but she didn't fully remember what. The conversation between Twilight and Applejack had reminded her of the gravity of the situation. That they had essentially stolen someone's property, that someone was after Twilight, that somepony almost got hurt. She swallowed hard, biting her lip. It was all her fault, she thought. Already she was regretting suggesting they use the rocket. However, somehow, she needed to make this right.
She silently slinked back to her room.
***
Afternoons in Equestria were normally incredibly calm, with only the singing of the birds and the fluttering of the leaves. Peace and quiet for the most part.
Not in Los Pegasus.
Racing planes zipped and roared overhead. For today, the FlimFlam Airfield had bleachers filled to the brim with ponies from Los Pegasus, all over the country, and even as far as the Crystal Empire as well. Foodstands and other attractions were set up around the runway to satisfy people's delights when they weren't watching the planes fly by. The donut stand was especially popular.
"Gilder, stop stuffing your face!" Gideon called out to his brother. Gilder was quite literally stuffing his face with donuts. Frosted, jelly glaze, chocolate glaze, jelly filled, plain. Of course, Gideon knew that they weren't here to just watch planes and the Wonderbolts do wild tricks and eat donuts all day. "Gilder!"
Gilder turned out, his beak overflowing with pastries. "Afashfafah."
Gideon walked up to him and jabbed his gut with a talon. "Swallow, didn't mother teach you manners?"
Gilder slapped Gideon's talon away and swallowed, then wiped his beak thoroughly. He wasn't exactly paying attention to his brother, his eyes more focused on the large storage of donuts in the stand. "Of course mother taught me manners, Gideon. I wonder if she taught you some though."
"That's not the point, we're here to look for... Gilda!"
Gilder quirked his brow and looked over. "What?" He and Gideon immediately leaned back against the stand in fright, for Gilda had suddenly appeared before them.
She was not amused. "I thought I told you two to stay home. You know you're wanted."
Gilder nudged Gideon roughly. Gideon took this as Gilder being too scared to talk and decided to do it for him. "Well, we just wanted to help our favorite big sister, right Gilder?"
Gilder nodded violently, flicking a stray sprinkle off his beak. "Yeah, yeah! We were just helping you look for that rocket."
Gilda looked up at the donut stand, saw the crumbs on Gilder's body and the sprinkles on his beak and noted he gained some weight. "Yeah, that's some help you're giving me. How did you two even get out of Uncle Gus' place?" Gilder and Gideon looked at each with a smirk and proudly pulled out a wanted poster of them. It showed them side by side with an accurate description of height, weight, and eye color. However, the griffons who were clearly Gilder and Gideon possessed curly mustaches. Gilda didn't even bring her head up from it, but simply glared at the two.
"This is the stupidest thing ever."
"But it worked! I mean, Uncle Gus might be a little disagreeable about it, but it works!" Gideon shouted. Before any sort of argument on logic ensued, three more griffons came up to the siblings out of the crowd.
Gilda shoved the poster back into Gideon's chest, then turned to greet them. "Gerry, Garry, cousin Gillespie."
Gerry nodded. "Evenin' Gilda."
"Lycurgus' feathers, Gerry." Gilder pointed to Gerry's face, bearing a black eye and a couple of bruises and scratches on his beak. "That shiner's brighter than the sun!"
Gerry shrugged and spoke in his most sarcastic tone, "Well as it turns out, the darn ponies are a lot more stubborn than we thought they'd be. They made complete asses of us." He turned to the nearby mule and shouted, "No offense!"
The mule nodded. "None taken."
Gilda snapped her talons, getting Gerry's attention again. "Well, did you find the rocket there? Anywhere?"
"Nah, me, Garry, and Gillespie searched this place from top to bottom. Gordon and Gorris are still searchin' round but you know how much help they are."
"What's wrong with those two?"
"Gordon's a mute, and Gorris speaks like he's in some foreign movie. Point is, they don't communicate properlike."
Gilda rubbed her temples. The male griffons immediately stepped back, for Gilda's rage was not something they wanted ever, especially not now in the middle of the crowd where there were children present. Thankfully, a sigh came out of her, and she relaxed. "Look, I don't care. You'll search this place again. If Prince Bloody Blues thinks the Flim Flam brothers have it, then they have it."
After a minute of pause, Gerry nodded. "Right, Gilda." He pointed to Gilder and Gideon and said, "You two are coming with us, we'll make a run through the bleachers again."
The griffons left, Gilder with a large box of donuts.
***
"Rocket! Ha!" said the Flim Flam brothers in unison. Twilight walked alongside them, for she was explaining her concept for the Rocketmare and how it could make some money. They even had the Rocket and the appropriate costume back at their cart for demonstration. Flim said the rest however. "Unlike you, Miss Sparkle, we happen to know how to make money. We do it by using actual technology and science and not some hocus pocus diesel... thing. Now scram, we have a circus to run." They left Twilight in the dust, and they laughed at the very idea of "rocketmare".
Twilight's friends caught up with her, Applejack especially. All Twilight could muster was a simple shake of the head.
"Well," Applejack started, "Like you said, Twi, we get the rocket to the authorities."
"Sure, Applejack." Twilight nodded. "But, we're not just here for some dumb rocket. We're here for Rainbow Dash too." Everyone smiled and agreed with her.
The Crusaders had also accompanied them five as well. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom and the others felt their stomachs growling. "Can we get somethin' to eat?"
Applejack nodded said, "Sure thing, sugarcube." She handed them a couple of bits, "Come meet us at the bleachers ya hear?"
The Crusaders ran off for the food stands. Apple Bloom however looked longingly at one of the planes resting. A boxy looking yellow wooden biplane. She wondered why that plane wasn't in the air when others were, and especially when the Wonderbolts were about to come on. Then she saw the brothers arguing about something, their body language betraying some sort of fear and anxiety. Someone must have been late for work. They might need a replacement pilot. They could pay that replacement pilot some decent cash.
She knew exactly who.
***
"Hey, Gideon." Gilder pulled his brother to a stop and pointed out towards the bleachers. Gideon sighed, but quirked his brow when he saw Gilder in an almost trance like state. He even dropped his donuts on the ground. "You see that unicorn over there?"
Gideon returned to a neutral expression. "Yes, Gilder, I sure can see the specific unicorn you're pointing at even though there are over a hundred unicorns in the bleachers, with varying colors and tramp stamps." Gilder took a brief glare at him then went back to staring at the bleachers. Gideon scratched his forehead, frustrated. "Which unicorn do you mean specifically?"
"The one with that straightly cut mane, that lavish lavender coat, those deep purple eyes. Those juicy and wonderful curves and those gams that stretch from here to Manehatten! She's a fine mare!" Gilder caught himself smiling like an idiot and looked at Gideon. He was a little weirded, disgusted, and confused.
"... I didn't mean that specific, Gilder."
"Regardless! I gotta know her name! I gotta ask her out! I gotta marry her! I have to father her children!" Gilder hopped in the air, giggling like a cub playing mob ball. Gilder hopped up, but was caught by the tail by his brother.
"Hold up there, Romeo. This kind of thinking gets protagonists in romances killed." Gilder tried flying off was but Gideon was as heavy and unmoving as a rock. "We're here for the rocket anyway, not to be paramours."
Gilder flapped his wings furiously, struggling against Gideon's iron grip. "At least let me get her name!" Gideon sighed as he rolled his eyes. He might as well let his brother have this one.
"Just her name, then you come back." He let go and Gilder immediately flew right into a pole. Gideon stood there, his expression not changing one bit. "I'd ask if you're okay, but I'm sure your thick skull comes in handy, Gilder." Gilder immediately picked himself up and ran into the stands.
***
"And there goes No. 52 Squadron! Led by the Sonic Rainboom master herself, Rainbow Dash!" The announcer was having as joyous a time as the rest of the crowd was calling out the Wonderbolts. "They'll be zippin' round with the FlimFlam Futuristics FF-1 Flyer! We'll be seein' who can outturn and outrun who today folks! Personally, my money's on the pegasi, but surprises happen I tell you what!"
Twilight and friends cheered at the top of their lungs as Rainbow Dash screamed past and angled up into the air. Even Fluttershy was raising her voice above normal conversation levels. Pinkie was bouncing up and down, waving a foam finger and yelling at Rainbow Dash to go even faster. Rarity was rearing up in her finest summer outing outfit.
"Hey!" Someone called out from further down the stands. Twilight looked down, confused. It was a fat looking griffon, smiling like a complete idiot. "What's your name!?"
"Twilight Sparkle!" she responded. The griffon floated in the air, laughing madly, then flew off.
"That was quite strange." Rarity commented. However, she turned to see the Crusaders coming up the stands.
Applejack greeted them, patting Sweetie Belle on the head. "Hey, girls." Applejack however noticed the lack of her own sister. "Where's Apple Bloom?"
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other briefly before forcing smiles on their face. "Bathroom." Applejack narrowed her eyes and observed them for a minute. She could see the minute sweat drops going down their coat, their teeth grinding against themselves, their eyes focusing in on the distance behind Applejack.
"You two are lyin' tah me." Sweetie and Scootaloo dropped the act in favor of looking sorry. "Where is she?"
The announcer interrupted them. "Look at that!" The biplane roared past the bleachers at low altitude, low enough to knock the flags off the towers and scare the bejeezus out of everyone. The biplane's propeller engine was giving off black smoke furiously. Scootaloo nervously pointed at the plane.
"Up there." she said.
The color from Applejack's face immediately drained. She ran over past Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy and up to Twilight.
"Twi', my sister's in that plane!" Twilight bugged her eyes out. The other ponies also looked horrified. They looked over at the announcer's stand, with the Flim Flam Brothers. The five immediately ran for the stand.
"Flim! Flam!" Applejack screamed. She burst into the stand, surprising the announcers and the brothers. "Why is my sister in a plane!?"
"Well," Flim started, magically tugging on his shirt collar, "We needed an experienced pilot. Ours didn't show up today apparently. She volunteered as long as we paid her handsomely, around fifty bits."
Flam added, "If it's any consolation, she said she had flying experience."
Applejack began seeing red at this point, but her composure remained clear and steady. She simply said, "Yeah, if you can call crashing into my friend's house on her first and only time flying flight experience."
The two brothers glanced at each other. Then Flim ran over to one of the pony coordinators and screamed, "Get that biplane down!" Flam stepped over and took another look at the biplane.
This particular biplane was the FlimFlam Futuristics FF-1 Flyer. One of the brother's first designs and packing a modified magi-combustion engine that can be powered directly by both electricity and magic. It was boxy design but it was nimble and fast, everything needed for a stunt plane. Applejack walked up to Flam, her anger not entirely replaced by worry.
"She gon' be okay?" she asked.
Flam darted his eyes around, looking for the right answers as if they were on the walls and in the sky. "Well, if she can make a safe crash landing and as long as she has a gas mask on, yeah."
***
The smoke was getting into Apple Bloom's cockpit. She gritted her teeth, but there were several things going incredibly wrong. She was getting very sleepy, the smoke was blocking her view, she couldn't tell how high up she was, and she couldn't see the airfield. She heard some wings flapping, did she nearly barrel through the Wonderbolts?
She probably should have worn that gas mask.
***
Fluttershy walked up Twilight, who was observing the action with studious worry. "Rocket's in the carriage right?"
Twilight, without averting her eyes, said, "Yeah." After a couple of seconds, she realized what Fluttershy had just asked. She turned to ask why, but saw her already running down the bleachers towards the parked carriages. Twilight ran after her, leaving Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack in the stands.
"Okay folks!" Flim was talking over the loudspeaker. "You're probably wondering why the Flyer just nearly crashed into the Wonderbolts, but I'll let you in on it, it's all part of the show!"
Twilight finally caught up to Fluttershy at their carriage. She had already put on the costume minus the helmet and was busy strapping the rocket onto herself. "Fluttershy, what are you doing!?" she said.
Fluttershy looked at her, and Twilight could see the immediate fear and anxiety in her eyes. Which contrasted her answer greatly. "Saving Apple Bloom."
"What!? Wait, Fluttershy!" Twilight stepped up to her, gesturing to the rocket. "You don't know how to use that thing!" She gestured over to the Wonderbolts flying circles around the airfield. "Get the Wonderbolts to help her, get Rainbow Dash-"
"Twilight!" Fluttershy stopped Twilight's statements. "Apple Bloom is up there because of me. I have to make this right at the very least. It has to be me." Fluttershy's face bore sincerity which melted Twilight's argument. Twilight huffed and levitated the helmet over to her.
"Fine." Fluttershy took the helmet and the two began walking down the line of carriages. "Pinkie and I made some modifications. If you want to go, just open up the wings. If you want to stop, close them up. It's really simple. Got it?"
They stopped at the end. "Yeah, anything else?"
"Just be careful, and good luck." said Twilight. Fluttershy looked up the sky. She saw the plane flying high over the airfield, dipping worrying then rising. She put the helmet on and did the straps. She mentally prepared herself, pawed at the ground for a few seconds. She had to think of Applejack, Apple Bloom, they were counting on her.
She opened her wings. Immediately she blazed off and up into the air.
***
The crowd all pointed and turned towards a new arrival. She was fast, very fast. When she blazed past the bleachers, it was nothing more than a blur, a vapor trail, then the sound of roaring. Cries of what it was, where it was going, and how fast it was were everywhere. All eyes on were on that singular pony racing, darting, and simply outflying the Wonderbolts or the planes in the air.
The mare looped around before hitting the bottom of the Flyer.
***
That hurt. Even wearing a helmet, it was extremely painful. Fluttershy blinked away the stars in her eyes and looked into the hole she created. It was Apple Bloom, fast asleep at the throttle, a little drool hanging out of her mouth.
"Apple Bloom!" she screamed. Nothing out of the poor foal. Fluttershy had anticipated this scenario, and yet for her it was something she really didn't want to. She climbed out towards the right wing, barely hanging on. She felt the winds trying to blow her off, but Fluttershy held her footing. She clambered onto the cockpit and tried shaking Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom! Wake up! Wake up!"
Suddenly, she felt the plane rolling right. Fluttershy slipped and began sliding the wing. She desperately flailed for the wing's support struts, anything for a hold. She didn't catch anything.
***
The crowd stood at the sight of the mare falling like a brick, screaming in shock and horror.
"Oh, don't worry folks!" Flim had a nervous tone to him as he announced. "It's all part of the show!"
***
Fluttershy desperately flailed as she saw the ground getting dangerously closer. Her wings refused to open back up again. She could feel herself tearing up in the eyes. She was going to end up a smear on the ground. All because she was too scared to get back out there.
No, she wasn't too scared. She gritted her teeth, and streamlined her form. Like so, her wings opened and the rocket roared to life as she curved back up into the sky. She easily caught back up to the Flyer, which had now righted itself but was now dangerously angling downwards. Fluttershy grabbed a strut near the cockpit, and after a few seconds of struggle closed her wings back up. She dropped down onto the fuselage without the force of the rocket and accidentally knocked Apple Bloom up in the face. The controls were forced back and the plane immediately angled upwards sharply.
Fluttershy again, slid off the plane after impacting the tail rudder. Again she was falling but in a shorter time she had her wings open again and was off. She caught up to the now stalled Flyer, and this time she decided to put herself in the cockpit. At least if the plane whirls unexpectedly she'll have some footing to take advantage of. All that was left now was to wake up Apple Bloom.
"Apple Bloom! Wake up!" she screamed. She desperately tried shaking Apple Bloom awake. To her credit, she could Apple Bloom's eyes starting to open, even blinking a few times. What Fluttershy saw coming however was about to make that moot. It was the ground. There was literally a few minutes left before impact. Deciding a concussion was better than a broken body, she grabbed Apple Bloom and opened her wings. The rocket tore them free of Apple Bloom's straps and up through the top wing.
***
The Flyer crashed in a fiery, fantastic, and for the Flim Flam brothers an incredibly expensive explosion.
"All part of the show!" Flim squeaked out. He dropped the mic and immediately ran off to assess the damage.
The mare with the rocket flew overhead low and slow and dropped Apple Bloom into a nearby hay truck. After losing the cargo she blazed off and become nothing but a dot in the distance, leaving nothing but a trail of vapor behind her. All around, ponies began scattering, running to their carriages so they may follow the mare or run back into the city so they could tell their friends. It was quite the chaos. Journalists most importantly were running into the newsboxes, crowding them and leaving dozens out as the lucky few who made it in contacted their superiors. They all called of a strange and fast pony who saved a pilot from certain death, of a daring rescue, of a new pack that allowed ponies to fly, but all of them had the same message.
"Yeah!" a journalist called into the phone. "You heard me! A Rocketmare!"