Part 9: Volo Pro Veritas
Mexico City, Mexico
"Señor Ripslinger, any comment on the disappearance of Dusty Crophopper and Rainbow Dash?" A reporter asked to the lead racer.
"Dusty and Rainbow were nice guys who flew the challenge and pierced the clouds of mediocrity. We're all gonna miss them." Ripslinger said, pretending to sob.
"Excuse me." He said before rolling away from the crowd.
Ned and Zed followed after him.
"Let's just hope they make better boats than a plane or pegasus." Ripslinger said blatantly.
"That's a good one, boss." Zed laughed.
"Yeah, that was pretty good." Ripslinger said.
El Chupacabra was in earshot of their heartless statements and was not having any of it. He growled something in Spanish before racing right up to the arrogant airplane.
"Señor Dusty and and señorita Rainbow have ten times the engine you do." El Chu fumed.
"And ten times the integrity." Another voice added.
The other two racers turned to see Ishani, who was just as upset as El Chupacabra. Ripslinger just scoffed.
"Said the plane with the shiny new propeller.” He called out. “How much integrity did that cost you, sweetheart?"
Ishani was taken aback by the question, but her demeanor didn't falter.
"Too much." She hissed coldly. "You used to be a great champion. How the mighty have fallen."
Ishani rolled away without so much as giving a second glance. Ripslinger looked back at the, still furious, Mexican plane.
"Hmph. You are not even worthy of a cape swish." El Chupacabra sneered before he, silently and angrily, turned away.
"Really?" Ripslinger asked rhetorically.
He wasn't even fazed.
Lightning struck, thunder bellowed, and rain poured down as Dusty and Rainbow maneuvered their way through the storm and the bubbling waves. The ocean was churning just feet underneath them. However, neither of them were focusing on the storm or even the race. They were both thinking the same thing.
How can it be only one mission?
They were still reeling over Skipper's confession. The stories he told played in their heads.
The Battle of Airway
The raid in Tujunga Harbor
The Aleutians
The Battle of Wake Island
The Assualt on Kunming
A monstrous lightning strike jostled them out of their thoughts. They realized the storm was getting more viscous as time progressed.
"We got to get out of this storm, Dusty!" Rainbow called wiping her drenched mane out of her eyes.
"Right." Dusty answered.
Dusty was still not comfortable at the prospect of having to fly over the clouds. Unfortunately, before either he or Rainbow could begin their climb, another powerful bolt of lightning struck down. The flash of light blinded both racers. Rainbow was able to keep her composure, but Dusty was so frightened his wing smacked a wave and almost hit another, but he regained control. But, it wouldn't be for long.
"Dusty! Watch out!" Rainbow cried.
Dusty looked to see a giant wave of water pillaring over him. He couldn't get out of the way in time, so he screamed and braced for impact. Dusty shot through the mountain of water, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.
Her question would be answered when Dusty's engine sputtered and coughed before stalling completely. He began plummeting toward the choppy waters.
"DUSTY!" Rainbow cried out to her friend.
She rocketed down after him.
"Mayday! Mayday! I'm going down!" Dusty yelled into his antenna as he nosed-dived toward the Pacific Ocean.
"18 degrees north, six minutes, 119-" Dusty couldn't finished as he crashed into the waves.
He opened his eyes underwater, not daring to breathe. He began to resurface. Once his face was above the ocean, he saw another wave about to crash on top of him. He took in a deep breath before the stormy waters pushed him underwater again.
He spun underwater, then began to slowly float back up. He resurfaced again. This time, Rainbow was right there.
"Hold on, Dusty, I'm coming." The rainbow-colored pegsus said.
She didn't want to sound panicked, so she grabbed Dusty's propeller and pulled with all her might. She used all the strength she could muster. She just had to pull her friend out of the raging waters, but Dusty was too heavy. He began to sink.
"Help." He wheezed.
Rainbow's hooves failed her and they slipped from Dusty's propeller blades. All she could do was watch her friend slowly sink to the bottom of the ocean.
"Dusty! Dusty!" Rainbow cried, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
She wanted to dive after him, but she would run the risk of drowning if she did that. Rainbow looked all around her for anything that could help the dire situation she was in, but there was nothing. For once in her life, she felt helpless. Rainbow began hyperventilating as she flew back to the Jolly Wrenches ship. Or, at least, tried to.
The rescue forklift dove into the waters with a rescue net to retrieve the downed racer.
Crash!
Another forklift carefully guided the net from a helicopter.
Crash!
Also in the helicopter was a emotionally distraught pegasus. The helicopter slowly lowered a banged up and unconscious Dusty onto the ground of Mexico City International Airport. Reporters shot photos of the operation. Dusty and Rainbow's friends looked on with horrified and devastated expressions. The Main 7 even had tears in their eyes.
Once Dusty was on the ground, they gathered around him.
"Dusty!" Dottie said.
"Mí amigo" El Chupacabra said sadly.
"Oh, no" Twilight whimpered.
Then their eyes fell on Rainbow as she climbed from the helicopter.
"RAINBOW!" The ponies and dragon shouted.
They all hugged her, with fresh tears flooding their eyes. Rainbow was shivering and weeping.
"Rainbow, thank Celestia you're okay." Rarity cried.
"What happened out there, Dash?" Applejack asked wiping tears away.
Rainbow said nothing, instead show held onto her friends as she began to cry. She watched her friend almost die and she couldn't do anything about it.
Meanwhile, the others were surveying Dusty's damages.
"Quick, to the hangar." Skipper commanded.
Later
"Broken wing ribs, twisted gear, bent prop, and your main spar is cracked bad." Dottie said.
"What does that mean?" Spike asked cautiously.
Dottie inhaled then exhaled slowly.
"It's over." She said sadly.
The Main 7 all gasped.
"You mean, he can't race anymore?" Pinkie Pie asked, her mane deflated.
Dottie nodded.
"But, what about Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.
"All I got is a cold, but, I don't think I want to go back out there again." Rainbow said.
Her friends gasped again.
"But, Rainbow, what about winning the race?" Twilight asked.
"I know, but, Dusty was the main reason I wanted to join the race in the first place. Without him it just wouldn't be fair." Rainbow answered.
Her friends looked sadly at her, but they respected her loyalty. I mean, she is the element of loyalty.
"I'm sorry, Dusty." Twilight said.
Dusty depressed demeanor changed to that of anger. He turned towards Skipper.
"One mission? So much for Volo Pro Veritas." He said angrily.
The others, besides rainbow, were confused.
"Uh, wut is he talkin' about, Rainbow?" Applejack asked her friend.
Rainbow was about to respond, when Skipper acted first.
"Can we get a minute alone, please?" Skipper asked.
Dottie, Chug, and El Chupacabra left. Rainbow's friends were all hesitant, but left as well.
"You, too, Sparky." Skipper said.
Sparky obeyed and left. That left only Dusty, Rainbow, and Skipper alone in the hangar. Dusty and Rainbow continued glaring at Skipper. The veteran looked down solemnly and told his only true story.
"My first patrol as a Jolly Wrench was at Glendale Canal. My squadron was all rookies. All razor sharp.
"I should know. I trained every single one of them."
"It was supposed to be a routine patrol. A milk run."
"Look, Skipper, enemy ship two o'clock, two miles." One fighter plane said.
"Easy pickings. What do you say?" He asked.
"Negative, Jigsaw Two. Our orders are to recon and report back." Skipper replied
"Come on, Skip, it will be a turkey shoot." The first plane said.
"Let's do it, Skipper."
"Yeah, come on!"
"All right, Let's go in for a closer look. But keep your distance" Skipper relented.
They began to descend toward the ship in question, single file. But, just as they broke through the clouds, they were bombarded with rounds and rounds of ammunition. That's when the realized.
"Holy Cow! It's the whole enemy fleet!" The first plane shrieked."
"It was too late to pull up"
Skipper began firing at the ships. But his comrades were getting shot down left and right.
"Get out of there, Lucas." Skipper radioed, but it was no use.
Thousands of anti-aircraft bullets tore through his comrades. As Skipper desperately tried to take down at least one battleship a bullet struck him and he dived helplessly into the ocean.
Hours later, he was lifted back up onto an ally ship. Sparky was waiting for him, but Skipper's pained expression told the whole story. Sparky looked down, deeply saddened.
"My whole squadron."
"Under my commanded." Skipper finished.
Dusty and Rainbow were, for a lack of a better term, saddened. They were still upset with Skipper, but after hearing the terrible tragedy, they couldn't entirely blame him.
"After that, I just couldn't bring myself to fly again." Skipper said sadly.
"Let me ask you something, Dusty, Rainbow. If you knew the truth about my past, would you have asked me to train you?" Skipper asked.
Both were a bit taken aback with the question. Silence reigned for a few seconds, but they both gave the same answer.
"No." The both murmured.
Rainbow flew at of the hangar in search of her friends. Dusty and Skipper looked at each other sadly, not saying a word. Dusty limped away out of the hangar.
"I'm sorry, Dusty. I'm sorry, Rainbow." Skipper said depressed.
Back with Rainbow Dash, she found her friends near a hotel entrance they were currently staying at."
"Rainbow, what was that all about?" Twilight asked.
"Why did Skipper only want to talk to you and Dusty?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow was tempted not to answer, but, her friends deserved to know.
"Skipper lied, okay. All the war stories he told. None of them were true." Rainbow confessed.
"WHAT?!" Her friends shouted in disbelief.
"He wasn't speakin the truth at all!?" Applejack asked, almost offended.
"Yes, he only one single mission." Rainbow responded.
"How could he lie like that?" Spike asked angrily.
"Girls, Spike, please. The reason why he kept the truth from us is..." Rainbow told Skipper's story.
Once she was done, her friends were back to crying their hearts out.
"T-That's horrible." Fluttershy sobbed.
"I can't imagine losing my friends like that." Pinkie whimpered.
"Ah know, but, that doesn't give Skipper the right ta lie ta us." Applejack commented.
"I know, AJ, I know. But I can't really blame him either." Rainbow said sadly.
"Wait. Why weren't you able to know Skipper was lying, Applejack?" Spike asked.
"Ah'm only able to really someone is lyin' if ah know 'em really well. Skipper may be a friend, but ah don't know 'em like ah know you girls." Applejack explained.
"Even then, should we really call him a friend if he lied to us?" Rarity asked disdainfully.
"What!? Of course we do, Rarity. Just because Skipper lied about his past doesn't mean we should cut all ties with him. Friends make mistakes." Twilight said.
"Maybe we should talk to him. Just to show we still care about him." Fluttershy offered.
"Ah suppose we could try." Applejack said.
"Yeah, let's do that." Rainbow Dash said.
"Well. If you insist." Rarity gave in.
It took a bit of time, but they eventually found Skipper standing aways from the hospital. His face showed nothing but guilt and shame.
"Skipper." Twilight said softly. "I know you feel awful for lying to us, but understand that you're still our friend. Nothing will change that and I'm sure Dusty will find it in his heart to forgive, too."
The veteran plane gave a slight sniffle.
"I appreciate the comfort, princess. But, Dusty looked up to me and I let him down. Our friendship is ruined." Skipper said shamefully.
"No! Skipper, please don't think like that. Your friendship with Dusty isn't ruined. Forgiveness takes time, but eventually, he'll warm back up to you. It just takes time." Twilight explained.
"Your friendship with me isn't ruined either. I may be still upset with you, but I get angry with others a lot, but I don't just stop being their friend. I mean, if that were the case, I would stop being friends with the girls ages ago. Rainbow said.
"Yeah, and that's saying something coming from Dashie." Pinkie added.
Rainbow gave her pink friend a skeptical glare.
"We'll stick by you no matter what." Fluttershy said confidently.
For a second, the Main 7 swore they saw a small smile on Skipper's face before it quickly changed back to melancholy.
"Your kind words mean a lot, guys. But, I can't forgive myself if Dusty can't." The veteran fighter said.
"Skip." Spike whispered sadly.
"Would you mind leaving me by myself tonight?" Skipper asked.
The Main 7 wanted to argue against him, but the least they could do was oblige his wishes. So, they left, heading back to the hotel. Sleep, however, would not come to them easily that night.
Next Morning
Chug, Dottie, and the Main 7 returned back to the hospital hangar. They all looked sadly at Dusty who was currently staring at a corner. Dottie and Twilight made their way over to him.
"Dusty?" Dottie asked.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"Can you believe it? He hasn't been straight with me or Rainbow this whole time." Dusty lamented. "At least you were honest, Dottie. You said I wasn't built for this. I guess I should have listened to you."
"Dusty, if you had listened to me I would never ever forgive myself." Dottie said sadly.
"Skipper may have been lying to you all this time, Dusty. But, look at how much you've accomplished. Everypony goes through times where they feel they should give up, I mean, there were times where I thought I wasn't good enough to be Celestia's student, but I pushed through those times and look at me now. The Princess of Friendship." Twilight said, opening her wings.
"Twilight is right, Dusty. The Skipper may have been wrong for what he did, but he was right about you. You're not a crop duster. You're a racer. And now the whole world knows it." Dottie said.
Dusty looked over at his other friends. Chug gave a passionate smile.
"Y'ere still a racer, sugarcube. Nothin will ever change that." Applejack said.
"Yeah, you're still the most awesome flyer in all of...this world." Rainbow said confidently.
"And you're a wonderful friend, too, darling." Rarity added.
"We're still here for you, Dusty. No matter what happens to you." Fluttershy said softly.
"Go, Dusty!" Pinkie shouted happily.
"You can still show them what you got." Spike said.
A smile began to form on Dusty's face.
"Thanks, Dottie. Thanks, Twilight." Dusty said.
"Your welcome." Twilight said.
"Thanks, everyone. That means a lot." Dusty said, but his expression dropped.
"I've gone as far as I can go. I'm busted up, look at me." He said.
The others’ expressions dropped, too. Dusty was right, he was too heavily damaged to compete any longer.
"Yes, look at you." A familiar voice said.
"El Chupacabra!" Rainbow said happily.
She galloped over to him.
“Boy, it’s glad to see you again.” She said
“Gracias, Rainbow Dash. However, I’m here for more than just a sight for sore eyes.” El Chupacabra said.
Dottie slowly towed Dusty over to his friend.
"Dusty, I cannot bear the thought of competing without you." The Mexican racer said.
His crew member pushed a trolley with a pair of new wings on them over.
"Hey, that's the wing of a T-33 Shooting Star." Dusty exclaimed.
"When the great Mexican Air Force needed help, American T-33s came. They did not asked questions. They did not hesitate. They were there. Because that is what compadres do." El Chupacabra explained.
"Wait, what's in the red box?" Spike asked.
"That is my lunch, Don't touch." El Chupacabra said. "But the wings are yours."
"El Chu, I really appreciate..."Dusty said before his friend shushed him.
"Silencio. After all, you helped me with my pursuits of the heart. Now we are here to help you." El Chupacabra said.
"We?" Dusty asked.
"Oui. Good luck tomorrow, Dusty. I am so proud to compete with you. Same to you, Rainbow." Rochelle said pushing another trolley of parts with her.
"Thanks, Rochelle." Rainbow said.
"You're a good egg, Dusty. Look, here's a sat-nav device. Just in case...in case you ever find yourself lost, you know, without a *sniffle* without a friend to help you through it." Bulldog said.
"Thank you, Bulldog." Dusty thanked.
"Here's a flow control valve for you."
"How about a starter generator."
"It is honor to fly beside you."
"This is incredible." Twilight said.
"Thanks, everyone. Really." Dusty said.
"This is fantastic." Dottie giggle. "Looks like all you need now is a-"
"A new propeller? How about a Sky Slicer Mark Five." Ishani said.
"Wait, hold on. I thought you were using that." Rainbow said skeptically.
"Yeah, that's your propeller. You could still win the race." Dusty said out of genuine confusion.
Ishani chuckled.
"I intend to, but with my old propeller. This one didn't really suit me. But I think you will have a lot better luck with it." She said.
"You tricked us before. Why should we trust you now?" Rainbow sneered.
"And I'm sorry for that. This is the least I can do to make it up to you." Ishani answered.
"Thanks, Ishani." Dusty said.
"Are you seriously going to trust her like that?" Rainbow asked in disbelief.
"I believe her, because I know she means it this time. I doubt she would ever listen to Ripslinger now." Dusty said to Rainbow.
Rainbow sighed.
"Alright. I trust your judgment, Dusty.” She said.
"Dottie, can you fix me?" Dusty asked.
"Does a PT6A have a multi-stage compressor?" She asked.
Silence.
"Yes! Yes it does." Dottie said.
Everyone began to cheer.
"Guess ya'll be in the race after all." Applejack said.
"Yeah. I guess we are." Rainbow admitted.
"All right, you guys, let's get him ready to race." Dottie said.
Later into the night. The forklifts were hard at work fixing Dusty up. Meanwhile, Chug was studying Ripslinger's finish from last year's rally. He noticed something and rewind-ed several times to understand what he was seeing.
"What is it, Chug?" Twilight asked the fuel truck.
Chug moved over to Dusty and began explaining what he saw.
The next morning
"We are live from Mexico, And here they come. This is it, race fans. The final leg back to New York.
As some workers were busy fixing other planes the noticed the new and improved Dusty with Rainbow walking beside him.
"Whoa, dude!" One of them said.
They watched them moved by. One forklift lowered his wielding gun a bit too close to his friend's hat and accidently ignited it. Panicked, he quickly patted the flame out. His friend turn to him feeling the patting. He just gave him an innocent smile.
"We'll see you in New York." Dottie said.
"Thanks, guys." Dusty said.
"Be careful out there, both of you." Twilight.
"We know, Twi. We'll be fine." Rainbow said rolling her eyes.
The others cheered.
"It's dustin' time." Chug said.
"Dusty la vista, baby!" Sparky said.
"I'm going to throw the biggest party EVER!" Pinkie squealed.
"Wait until after they win, Pinkie." Rarity said.
"You have to hand it to them. They never give up." Chug said.
"Agreed." Spike said.
"Come on, everybody, we have a jet to catch." Dottie said.
Sparky strolled into the hangar where Skipper was in.
"Hey. So are you ready to go, Skip?" Sparky asked.
"Probably best if I don't." Skipper said depressed.
"What...okay." Sparky was a bit confused. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Skipper said simply.
Sparky left with a sad expression.
Back with Dusty and Rainbow, they were making their way to the runway.
"Dusty and Rainbow."
"They're back."
The crowd moved out of the way. There the two saw an all too familiar face. Ripslinger.
"It's him again." Rainbow grimaced.
A crew member was giving Ripslinger an oil can, then the racer's eyes fell on Dusty and Rainbow.
"You got to be kidding me." Ripslinger said in disbelief.
"Who's that guy?" Zed asked.
"It's the crop duster and pegasus." Ned said.
"Another one?" Zed asked obliviously.
"They're the same ones, knucklehead." Ned bashed his brother in the head.
"Move aside, idiots." Ripslinger said menacingly.
He got right up to Dusty and Rainbow. Both glared at the P-51.
"Bolting on a few parts doesn't change who you are. *Sniff* I can still smell the farm on you." Ripslinger growled.
A smirk formed on Rainbow's lips.
"Hey, guys. Why does Ripslinger have two propellers? Because he can't fly fast enough with just one." She joked.
Ned and Zed burst out laughing.
"And how I about I show you why they are called Sky Slicers." Ripslinger threatened.
Dusty then laughed.
"You know what? I finally get it. You're afraid of getting beat by a crop duster and a pegasus." Dusty said getting in Ripslinger's face.
Ripslinger backed up a bit, a lost look on his face.
"Well, check six, because we're coming." Dusty said.
"You can say that again, buddy." Rainbow said.
They continued to glare at the lead racer as they left, leaving him with a staring crowd.
"And what are you punks looking at?" Ripslinger scolded the crowd, causing it to disperse.
He turned back to his hench-planes.
"we are going to end this, once and for all." Ripslinger said evilly.
"Yeah, man." Zed said excitedly.
"This is going to be fun." Ned said sinisterly.
Unaware to them, Skipper had overheard their little plot. His shocked look changed to a look of anger and determination.
"I'm not going to let my friends down this time."
To Be Continued.
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https://images.app.goo.gl/k5FrNE2r3kcbQ7mW6
Rip got set on fire with that burn
I think I know why Applejack couldn't tell that Skipper was lying. The War stories Skipper was talking about was mostly about the Jolly Wrenchers. Skipper was talking about them as a whole unit, not his squadron which made it possible to fool Applejack.
The truth is heard, and the final leg begins...
Im honored you included me. You are most welcome!
11510349
What do you think of this fic man?
11511933
I find it good.
11503656
Hey man I noticed that there are some problems here with the timeskip next morning, later or that night. That you might want to take a second look. Why does it jump cut to later or next morning? There's no world building, exploration and expanding friendships formed here. No little details here and there. Why was Rainbow Dash able to just race like that next morning. Shouldn't she be weakened by then? Because she sure didn't eat or drink anything prior the night before since all of these planes and her existing in the world of cars should have known that planes have oil and gas. She didn't even bring corn or any food to eat when she goes to New York, There's no food everywhere, she doesn't have a canteen, she doesn't have a water bottle so shouldn't she be starving and thirsty after all of that racing? She should no longer have any energy if she wouldn't do anything to fill up! And then furthermore, I don't like how Rainbow Dash is portrayed here, She's joining the race being as if she's better than Dusty Crophopper and out to beat him even if this was his dream? She didn't changed, She's just a blowhard riding the coat tails of Dusty Crophopper here! She insults El Chupacabra, She berates the guy and bullies him, Thinking she's everyone than everyone else just because she's a pegasus racing in this world of planes!
11511939
Dude, I’m new to this, I know I’m not going to get everything right and perhaps I never will. But this is something that I enjoy doing whether it’s peak content or not. I’m doing this out of hobby and passion and it’s literally a crossover between two cartoon worlds, not every single detail needs to be addressed and it doesn’t need to make sense. It’s a fanfic about cartoon characters, that’s it.
11512824
I personally think you're doing great!
11522958
Thank you.
11512824
He has clearly never heard of character growth... (whisper)
11512824
11522958
Your new to all of this and I understand if not everything is going to be right and not every detail needs to be addressed... Hehe I just wanna see more uncovering of the Cars World lore from the ponies perspective but maybe the ponies should have their identities kept secret. That and with everything Rainbow Dash has learned so far about friendship, I just didn't like how she's treating El Chu and being a bully to him like the other planes.
I'm so sorry for all of this man if it kind of came out as rant but I never had any malicious intentions or if it looked like I was mad or angry at this..
Hey dude! This is an Emergency! Someone made a Movie about your Story! Your name is on it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tZ3JFvBYGk