• Published 17th Dec 2012
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The Mare of Tomorrow - Eh



In which Fluttershy becomes the Rocketeer.

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Chapter Four - "Good Grief, the Griffons!"

Magical bursts of energy whizzed and flew in every direction.

"Go!" A white unicorn with a blonde mane ran out of the hangar, wearing a bomber jacket and goggles. His name was White Star. With the intense charisma only he could muster, he waved his hoof forward. "Hurry! Get to your planes!"

Immediately his allied pilots began making a run for the planes out on the runway. Their enemy, the Lunar Empire troopers, fired bolts of magic at them. White Star jumped atop a pile of crates and deftly shot back, felling as many masked troopers as he could.

"White!" A meek looking stallion ran up to White Star. "The Empire's bringing up their airships, we need to get out of here!"

"No, Sparks!" White Star ducked down behind the crates. Sparks looked at him confusedly, nearly voiced his concern. White Star was decided to make it clear to him. "We're staying! We have to buy the Baroness time to-"

"Time to escape to safety?"

White Star and Sparks looked and saw the baroness herself. A pale blue unicorn, standing in her tarnished and mudstained regal gown.

"Baroness Twinkle!" White Star pulled into cover and shouted, "What are you doing here!?"

Twinkle scoffed. "I could not just stand by while my fellow countryponies give their lives for my sake!" She jumped atop the crates and reared up. "I am the Baroness Twinkle of the Air! I am no coward in the face of the Lunar Empire! And I-"

"Cut!" The director, JoJo, facehoofed as he sat down in his chair. The camera crew stopped rolling and the actors, extras, and all other film crew sprung back to life. "Trixie, get over here."

"Mister JoJo, is this about my acting again?" Trixie walked up to JoJo and dusted off some of the mud on her gown. A make up artist quickly correctly that and added more mud. Trixie was quite livid, as was the director. This was the thirtieth take today for a simple scene where the Baroness would declare herself a brave pony to White Star.

Jojo nodded. "Yes, it is. Could you please just be more subtle!"

"Ha!" Trixie scoffed at the idea of subtlety. "Subtlety is not Trixie's strong suit."

"Then why are you an actor?" JoJo threw up his hooves. "Celestia! Just be a little quieter!"

Blueblood trotted up to the two. "Perhaps we should take a break, Mister JoJo. We've been at this all day."

JoJo rubbed his temples and sighed loudly. "Fine, let's give the crew time to get the pyrotechnics set up again." The actors shrugged and simply scattered every which away. He melted into his chair and let his frustration fester.

JoJo had every reason to be frustrated. The production of Baroness of the Air was not going as smoothly as he'd hoped. His original musical composer named Hornblower had to bow out due to a plagiarism controversy which means he had to look for new one. A stuntpony was injured when filming one of White Star's flight scenes when the expensive rented DeeBee Racer plane inexplicably lost power and crashed into a tree. Even worse, his combined expenditures for renting FlimFlam Airfield and of other troubles with production meant his film was going incredibly overbudget. The executives at Galloping Studios made it clear that they were not exactly amused.

"JoJo!" JoJo leaned back into his chair and simply let the Flim Flam brothers approach. Not amused either were the Flim Flam brothers, whom allowed JoJo the use of their airfield as long as it got excellent screentime. Which it wasn't. "We've got a bone to pick with you."

"Yes," JoJo said, turning to the brothers. "So does the great filmmaker in the sky too."

"Listen, we're letting you rent this airfield because we were promised cash and that our airfield would get significant screentime." JoJo couldn't tell which one actually said that, he'd have to assume it was Flim, he was more talkative. "We reviewed your footage and found that the airfield only has thirty minutes of screentime in total."

JoJo sat up straight in his chair and looked them in the eye. "That's a quarter of the movie, Flim."

"Still not enough. Anyway, you best clear out all this stuff soon, we're holding the Flying Circus the day after tomorrow."

JoJo screamed. "What!?" The Flim Flam brothers flinched at his sudden volume. "We can't just pack up and leave! The pyrotechnics need to removed, we need to move the trailers, the tents, I'm already stretched thin here!"

Flim shook his head, to which Flam did the same as well. "Sorry, JoJo, business is business. The Flying Circus is gonna draw money in now rather than later."

The Flim Flam brothers walked off and left JoJo to sulk in his troubled production. In truth, they actually sympathized with him somewhat. They had been in just the same situation, their visions being troubled by other people in the pursuit of cold hard cash. In JoJo's case, his vision was of an epic movie that critics would rave about, that teenagers would write bad fanfiction of, and would receive adoration by the general public. Of course, now he was stuck getting pushed around by the more successful duo whom had turned their fortunes around with the perfection of mechanical flight and the magi-combustion engine.

The Flim Flam Flying Circus to be held in two days was planned to be a demonstration of the brothers' own little modification to the magi-combustion engine. Specifically, it was their soon to be patented magical-electrical engine, a hybrid of sorts that in theory would allow planes more endurance in the air. Their tests so far have proven quite adequate with the only real flaw being that it produces an intense noxious gas that puts ponies right to sleep, which can be easily solved with the right ventilation. So far, they had already modded several of their older FF-1 Flyers with these hybrid engines, the proper ventilation was taking some time but just in case, they were prepared to hand out gas masks.

Blueblood was just about to retire to his trailer when something clicked in him. He looked over to the brothers. They were conversing with each other, rather merrily he'd add. He slowly followed them. In the courts back at Canterlot, he knew how to follow a lady without being spotted. Always remain a respectable seven feet, walk at their speed, and occasionally glance around. That tactic helped him win a few hearts, most importantly because he could hear just about anything they said.

"Anyway, Flam, do you know from whom I received a letter recently?"

"Nope, who?"

"Remember the debacle down at Ponyville?"

"Indeed I do. The one where we were ran out of town by angry ponies for winning a competition fair and square."

"Well, one of those ponies contacted me, Twilight Sparkle was the name, saying they wanted a space in the Flying Circus! Can you believe the nerve of it? Said they had some kinda rocket or somesuch."

"Well, bully that. They coming around here?"

"Yeah, they asked if we could meet them at some diner the Wonderbolts hang out at, even gave us their address for where they're staying. Said they'd be here tomorrow at best. I figure we can just stand them up though, as if we're just going to let them profit off of our hard work."

"Indeed, Flim! The gall of it, asking us for a spot in our carefully scheduled Flying Circus. Nerve of it, admirable, but completely stupid."

"Well, what do you expect from a bunch of hicks?"

The brothers laughed loudly as they moved on. Blueblood however, stopped in his tracks. Rocket, they said. He pondered on it. It could be any kind of rocket, like the kind of rocket you shoot out on Hearth's Warming Eve and it makes a colorful explosion in the shape of a heart. However, he didn't get into his position by not taking chances. He needed a phone. "Sundance!"

Sundance immediately zipped up next to him with a phone on a plate wired to the nearest tower in her hoof. Blueblood quickly took up the receiver and began dialing. With impatience, he awaited as the toner buzzed incessantly. Then, there was a click.

With a Fancy accent, someone said, "Gaston speaking, qui est-ce?"

Blueblood said, "Get me Gilda, quickly!"

***

Fairey's Fly-n-Go was a small diner, just near the city where the paved roads became dirt and buildings were only two stories at most. Travelers often stop by on their way into the city where the more attractive festivities such as the nightclubs or the bright lights provided a bit more entertainment. It is, however, more famous for being the hangout for one of the Wonderbolt training squadrons, No. 52 Squadron. The owner, an aging pink pegasus mare named Fairey, made good food for them which was fresh made and infinitely better than the repetitive salads back at the mess hall.

Rainbow Dash checked her watch as she spun around on the stool. Her uneaten slice of banana cream pie sat on the counter in front of her, barely eaten into and smelling just as fresh as was it was ten minutes ago. She was the only pony in the diner besides Fairey, as it was only 4 O'clock in the evening with the lunch rush having past and the dinner rush not for another hour or two.

"Impatient, ain't ya?" Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her seat at Fairey's voice. Rainbow Dash calmed herself with Twilight's method, draw air in and then let it out. It worked in most circumstances.

"Pretty much, I haven't seen my friends in weeks!"

"Well, from what I can see-" Fairey looked over to the board in the back of the diner, filled with all kinds of papers and photographs. Partially obscured by a memo was a photo of Rainbow Dash and her five friends, "-y'all must be pretty close."

"Very, Fairey." Rainbow Dash leaned back on the counter and checked her watch again. "I just can't wait! Pinkie told me she'd be arriving in her new flying machine!" On cue, a high pitched humming sound came into earshot. Fairey and Rainbow Dash confusedly looked around, then as it got louder they quickly trotted outside. Their jaws dropped at the sight.

It was a very bright pink aircraft. It didn't have any wings, however. Instead, there were two paddle wheels spinning rapidly around the sides where wings should be, with a long tail painted like a candy cane possessing tail fins. It hovered in the air, kicking up dust and spinning loudly. It slowly descended down and landed on three wheels in a tricycle configuration. A door next to one of the paddle wheels opened and out walked Twilight Sparkle.

"I have to say, Pinkie! Very unconventional craft you've got!" Twilight was tackled down by Rainbow Dash immediately on finishing on the sentence. The two laughed as they hugged each other on the ground, and soon, Applejack exited the craft and she too joined the dogpile.

"Whoowhee! Dashie, you're real dashin' in that uniform of yours!"

Rainbow Dash knocked the hat off of Applejack and took her in a noogie. Her Wonderbolt uniform was indeed quite fitting of her, and it was only a matter of time before she got the honor to wear the emblem on her flank as full Wonderbolts did."Thanks, you're not looking so shabby yourself!"

Pinkie exploded out of the craft in a shower of confetti and custard. "Hey! I see a dogpile!" She immediately jumped on the three ponies, eliciting even more laughter. Rarity walked out, sunglasses on her face and dressed immaculately for the summer. She spied the dogpile with a frown.

Rarity began, "Oh, I'm not sure if I should..." Her four friends' laughter and fun, however, was quite convincing. "Oh, nuts to it." With a scream, she dove into the fray and tried to find some grip on Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy carefully stepped off the craft and without hesitation, simply dove right into the dogpile herself, giggling. The Cutie Mark Crusaders also stepped off and joined the dogpile. It was all one mass of happiness and laughter. The friends were together again.

After separating from the dogpile, they stepped inside the diner. Fairey declared she'd make some fresh pie, on the house just for Rainbow Dash. Immediately, the six began catching up on what Rainbow Dash missed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders also took up their own little booth with their own apple pie. The older ponies discussed why Spike stayed behind to watch the library, Apple harvesting time, and of course the latest antic of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Rainbow Dash spat out some pie. "Really!? 6000 bits to fix your house!?" She was sitting next to Fluttershy, whom was the target of some of the discarded bits of pie. She quickly wiped it off and nodded. "I don't even make that much in a year being a trainee!"

Twilight nodded, sitting on the other side of Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, but listen, and you're probably not going to believe us, and you have to keep this on the down low." She looked over at Fairey. Fairey took this as her cue to start whistling and trot into the back kitchen. "We found something, a rocket. It'll make anypony go really fast! We're planning on using to earn us some money!"

Rainbow Dash scratched her chin. "Really, sounds like my line of work."

Twilight shrugged. "Well, actually, we're having Fluttershy use it."

Rainbow Dash looked confusedly over at Fluttershy. "Really?" Fluttershy meekly nodded. "Wow, that's... I wouldn't expect that."

Rarity slipped some pie into her mouth and swallowed immediately. She pointed out, "Well, she came up with the idea."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Didn't expect that either."

Twilight also ate up some pie. "We're hoping the Flim Flam brothers could meet us here today so we can try and discuss when we could get ourselves into their Flying Circus."

Rainbow Dash chortled. "Well, good luck. I mean, they really schedule these things beforehoof. And even then, I don't think they like us, Twilight."

"Well, it's my best plan so far. Otherwise, we could just-" Rainbow Dash stopped her and looked past her out the window. All the ponies took note where she looked as well.

Outside the diner, gathered around Pinkie's aircraft was a group of eight griffons. All musty feathered and ragged looking as if they haven't had a decent shower in weeks. One of them looked inwards to the Diner, and immediately the ponies turned back to their pies. They made themselves look as casual as possible, which meant Pinkie desperately ate up her pie, Rarity began fluffing her mane, Twilight began reading a book on the Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Rainbow Dash was admiring herself in a mirror, Applejack was playing a harmonica, and Fluttershy simply sat there.

"Who are those guys?" Twilight barely looked up from her book.

"Gangsters." Rainbow Dash whispered through a toothy grin.

The door ringed as the griffons walked in. Fairey came back from the kitchen, and upon seeing the griffons, forced as best a smile she could. "What can I get you boys?"

The largest griffon, whom could probably be up to Celestia's chin in size, answered with a most worrying statement. "We're lookin' for a Twilight Sparkle." Twilight froze in the middle of her page turning, but thankfully, she went unnoticed. "You seen 'er?"

Fairey scrunched her nose in a moment of thought, then said, "Nah, don't know anybody by that name."

The griffon walked up to the counter and leaned on it. "Ah, well, see. Me and the boys here got somethin' to negotiate for her. She happens to have somethin' we want." Fairey reaffirmed that she did not see a Twilight Sparkle. Twilight shifted her eyes. The rocket. It was in the aircraft. She briefly pondered as to why they didn't bother searching it. "There's a lotta yellow involved in it, if you catch my drift." Nobody answered him. The griffon chuckled as he sidled up next to Applejack.

"You, you look honest. You seen 'er?" he asked. Applejack played a note off-key as he looked over at the griffon. The other griffons were already settling into the booths.

Applejack drew a deep breath in, scrunched her nose, wiped some sweat off her brow, and said, "Nope."

The big griffon nodded with a chuckle. "You're a terrible liar, you know that right?"

The ponies all looked at Applejack nervously, then back at the big griffon. He walked past the ponies again. "Now, I'm asking nicely, all we want is Twilight Sparkle. Or where she is. We'll be on our way and out of your hair, or manes, whatever ya call 'em."

Fairey coughed, getting all the griffons attention. "We don't know no Twilight Sparkle. Now, if ye ain't here to order something, gonna have to ask ya to leave."

The griffon nodded, scratching the bottom of his beak. "I see, I see. Well, we'll just have somethin' then. I'm feeling a mite peckish myself, right boys?" The griffons all loudly agreed. The big griffon walked up to the counter, and saw a case with some donuts and fresh baked pastries in them. "Look at these here foodstuffs, I bet ya these are fresh made." He pushed it onto the floor, letting it crash loudly in a shower of broken glass and spilled food. The ponies all stood up, but some of the griffons, including the big one, drew switchblades.

One of the griffons, in the most innocent tone possible, said, "Don't interrupt his meal." The ponies stepped back, the Crusaders whimpered as they hid behind Fluttershy.

The big griffon nodded, "Speaking of meals, looks like you're all done with yours." He swept the plates off the counters and let them shatter on the floor.

Fairey half-heartedly shouted as she leaned over the countertop. "Stop this!"

One of the griffons relaxing in the booth responded in a mocking tone. "Or what, you gonna love and tolerate at us?" The griffon looked at the griffon across from him. "Hey, you smell something? Why don't we open a few windows here?" A window was immediately busted through with a switchblade.

The big griffon laughed, withdrawing his switchblade. "Look, we're reasonable people. All we want is this Twilight Sparkle pony and we'll be out of here." Fairey opened her mouth as if ready to talk, then cringed as she shut it again. The big griffon frowned. "Seems we're doing it the hard way then." He waved over one of the griffons. "Give her a tan, why don't ya."

The smaller griffon nodded. He flew over the counter and grappled Fairey. She struggled as the griffon dragged her over to a working oven and began hovering her face over the incredibly hot black flat of it. She screamed as she felt stray hairs of her mane burn up on the oven. The griffon kept her just a few inches short of it however, and he shouted, "Talk, Granny! Or get a facelift!"

Fairey could feel the heat singing her face. She shouted back, "I told you once, and I'll tell you again! I don't know anything!"

"Stop!" Everyone turned to Twilight Sparkle, who was now incredibly angry and whose horn was now glowing purple. "Leave her alone!" Her friends stood beside her, also looking mean. The griffons sputtered in laughter, even the one about to cook Fairey's face was laughing.

The big griffon walked up to Twilight, still suppressing some giggles. "Cute, I have to say. What are ya gonna do? There's eight of us and only six of you. If my math is correct, we win."

***

Around a minute later, the griffons burst from the diner and flew off in different directions and screaming for their mortal lives. The big one was the last to exit, his feathers seriously singed and his ribs cracked from a particularly bad bucking from the one in the hat.

"We'll get you for this! You're messing with the wrong griffons!" He shouted. He flew off in a wounded fashion, leaving the ponies to celebrate their flawless victory. Fluttershy however, stood in the back, worrying. They all knew, even she knew, that it was an empty threat. Those griffons would probably avoid that diner if the rainbow maned one frequented it. However, she couldn't help but feel responsible. She decided to keep quiet about it however, maybe until they got to Apple Fritter's house.

Author's Note:

Seriously, some engineer in the 30s came up with the strange idea of the Cyclogyro. It works essentially by replacing the paddles with airfoils and in theory this generates lift. Not only does this work, but it's supposedly better than helicopters. I don't even know. I'm not even sure why more people even know about cyclogyros, this thing screams futuristic.

JG 52 was a German fighter squadron during WWII that flew exclusively Messerschmidt Bf. 109s, arguably the mook fighter of the war. Despite that, JG 52 has the honor of having on the roster the top three scoring flying aces in history. I know wikipedia is a bad source to cite, but when you look at the list of top scoring aces, the top of the list is nearly exclusively German, which is kind of hilarious.