> FEDEX 727-100QF > by MLPFIM6444 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue "Why do you keep on doing this, man? "'Cause it's fun," "Yeah. 'Cause it's fun. Real good reason!" Matt and Josh were walking through an open field, with a city's lights far in the distance, reminding Josh that they weren't totally lost. "Look, there's one," Matt said, pointing up at an aircraft. "Man, come on, don't do this..." "Yeah? And why not, Josh? "Well, because there's innocent lives aboard that plane. Who knows how many?" "Two," "Two?" "If you look at it, you'll realize it has FedEx written on its side, and FedEx is a cargo company. Judging by its size, it only needs a pilot and a co-pilot. There's only two people aboard that plane." "Ugh, fine, but, how many times HAVE you done this?" "I dunno, two hundred or something. I lost count at 180 about a week ago." "TWO HUNDRED? TWO HUNDRED PLANES?!" "No, man! Calm down! I do other stuff, like cars, trucks, trains. I haven't just done planes." "You know what? I don't want you doing it any more! And I think you know why!" "Whatever, I'll just do this last one, then." "You will not do this las-" "SHUT UP, MAN! I DIDN'T COME OUT HERE JUST TO ARGUE WITH MY BEST FRIEND! Let me do this one last one, alright?" Josh's mind was going over what had just happened. Two hundred trucks, trains and planes? Was he insane? He knew he had to stop Matt, but Matt's reasoning was too overpowering. "Fine..." Josh whispered. "Heh, what was that?" asked Matt. "I SAID FINE! One last one! That's IT!" "Alright, alright." Matt said with a laugh. "Sit back and watch the grand finale." Matt said, looking back up at the plane above them. > Chapter 1: Entry > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Entry "FedEx 727-100QF velocity 516 knots, heading two-seven-zero, en route to Detroit." Said the pilot on the cargo plane. "About 30 minutes out, beginning descend in two minutes." "You say that like it's extremely important." said the co-pilot. "Actually, Mitch, we HAVE to, for the black box." "Ohhh. Makes sense," Flight 343, FedEx cargo plane, was a Boeing 727-100QF, coming back from a cargo run in Miami. The two had had quite a long day of flying, and they were ready to go back to Detroit and call it. --------- "Okay, you watching?" asked Matt. "I've been watching for the past 15 minutes." said Josh sarcastically. "Okay..." There was a sudden flash of light were Matt was standing, and an unknown source of light kept the area lit. "Matt?" "I'M... FINE! GAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!" "You don't sound fine!" "NO! IT'S ALRIGHT! DON'T COME TOO CLOSE, OR ELSE I'LL SEND YOU FLYING BACK AT MACH 4 OR SOMETHING!" Josh kept his distance. He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, it seemed to hurt Matt... In a good way. "You sure you okay?" Josh yelled over the roar of... Whatever Matt was doing. Matt couldn't hear him. --------- The two men up in the aircraft piloted it confidently. "Hey, we're off course." said the co-pilot. "What? How?" Asked the pilot. He looked down at his coursing machine. It was pointing dead straight. "That can't be right! Detroit tower, come in?" The pilot began to ask Detroit tower of they were off course. Detroit wasn't responding. "Detroit tower, come in! This is FedEx cargo 343, we need assistance! The Detroit tower wasn't responding. "Are we out of range?" asked the co-pilot. The pilot looked up at him to see the nervous look on his face, when he saw it, out of the window behind his co-pilot. "Tarmac! Lit tarmac!" "What? Where?" "Right there, look!" said the excited pilot, pointing as best he could at the lit tarmac runway. "How did we pass it?" asked his co-pilot, and the pilot's face fell. The tarmac was to the far right of them, 30,000 feet below. "No matter. We have plenty of fuel to go around." The two pilots looked at each other, and laughed at the pilot's witty joke. "All right, auto pilot off, we can't trust it. We're doing this manually." "Yes, sir! Uh, problem. The auto pilot won't go off!" "You gotta press it you moron. It's not touch activ-" "I did! It's not shutting off!" interrupted the co-pilot in panic. As the pilot looked down at the auto pilot button, he realized the light behind it was off, indicating the auto pilot was off, and manual flying was on. "Is this some kinda joke?" "What? I don't-" "The auto pilot IS off, you nitwit." the pilot grabbed the controls and pushed, to make the plane descend. It wasn't working. The controls were locked in place, like they were when auto pilot was on. "You gotta be kidding me. So we have NO control over this aircraft?" "No-" started the co-pilot, but fell back in his seat. "Wake up. Hey? You still there? Wake up!" The pilot was taking this as a rude joke. "C'mon you, that's NOT funny. Wake up!" The pilot put two fingers on the co-pilot's neck, and couldn't find a pulse. He picked up the radio in a panic. "Detroit tower we have a big problem, we have no control over the aircraft and the co-pilot's..." he stopped, realizing again he had no radio contact. He began pulling at the engine's throttle, but they were locked like the main controls. When suddenly, there was a random ball of light in front of his plane, that managed to disappear before the plane collided with it. "The hell..." said the pilot. It happened again, except this time it was farther away. A third time. A fourth. every time it was farther, disappearing just before the plane hit it. Again it came, very far in front of his craft, but this time, instead of just staying there, it stretched vertically outwards quite a bit, then horizontally a rather small amount. The pilot suddenly realized it was adapting to the shape of his aircraft, and he was going straight for it! "WHAT?! OH NO..." He quickly pulled on his controls, to realize once again, they were locked. He had no choice but to fly straight into the white rectangle in front of him. And then he was gone. Him, the co-pilot, the cargo, the FedEx 727, and the white rectangle of pure light. Gone. --------- "Matt! Holy crap, man, that was intense!" "No, it was normal. It didn't feel all that great like it was before." Josh was glad to hear that. It meant that he wouldn't want to do this any more. "What happens to the plane?" asked Josh, as they walked back to his car. "From what I know, it goes somewhere in the universe. When I had only done like, eighty, I thought that they just disappeared, until after doing this truck, I found a story on TV about the same truck that had "fallen out of the sky" on to the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada." Somewhere in the universe. Josh was glad he stopped. > Chapter 2: Crash! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Crash! Twilight Sparkle looked up at the night sky through her telescope, at all of the wonderful stars & formations. "Um, Twilight? You think it's time to call it a night?" asked her assistant, Spike. "Not now, Spike! This is the clearest night we've had in Equestria for a long time! I don't want to miss this chance to stargaze!" "Whatever you say. Just, um, please stop going on to yourself about how wonderful it is." "Sorry, Spike." Twilight looked back up into the night sky, and saw a flickering light. "What the? Spike, come look at this!" "Ugh, do I have to?" groaned Spike. --------- Rainbow Dash lay in her cloud bed in her cloud house, staring at the cloud ceiling wondering, why can't I sleep? A sudden flashing of light filled her room, and went away. She looked out of her bedroom window to see a huge flickering light outside. --------- Fluttershy walked about her cottage in the woods caring for all the little animals throughout her house, when a flicker of light from outside her cottage caught her eye, and she became very focused on it. --------- Rarity stood on the balcony of her Boutique, looking over the few lights turned on in the village below, when she saw a flickering light in the night sky. --------- Pinkie Pie stood at the counter of Sugar Cube Corner, working a night shift, hoping for customers, when a flickering light outside the shop grabbed her attention. She began pondering as to what it could be. --------- Applejack was sitting outside her barn at Sweet Apple Acres, watching the night sky for shooting stars with her brother, Big Macintosh, by her side. A sudden flickering light in the sky caught her attention. "Whoa, ain't that strange?" "Eeyup," --------- There was a sudden knock on Twilight's door. "Come in." She said. Rainbow Dash flew in quickly, and came right up to Twilight. "What did you do?" She asked. "What did I do? What did you do? What did the weather team do... Are we talking about the same thing?" She asked. "Are you talking about that?" Asked Dash, pointing a hoof in the direction of the light. "I didn't... Whoa! Look!" replied Twilight, paying more attention to the light. It was no longer flickering on and off, and it had grown in to a large rectangle. A huge thing shot out of it and flew over Ponyville. It looked like a dragon, no, it looked nothing like a dragon, or did it? Or was it even alive? It came up over the houses of Ponyville, narrowly missing the roofs of the houses below. It flew into the air and came back around. A loud alarm went off in the town; the mayor must have thought they were under attack. "That's my cue! Gotta go!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, and shot out towards the huge monster flying around Ponyville. Twilight set out for where the monster was heading. "Where ya going, Twi? asked Spike "Not too sure, yet," And with that Twilight was gone. --------- Mike, the pilot of the FedEx 727-100QF, was glad he finally had control. It was short-lived, however. The aircraft suddenly had four other planes, seemingly fighter jets, in front of him. They were likely escorting him. He felt relieved that this crisis was finally coming to an end. All of a sudden, the four fighter jets turned around and ran into his plane. How had they performed such a sharp turn, and how did they not explode when they had hit his craft? The plane slowed down immediately, and Mike pushed the throttles to the maximum. The plane shot forward and Mike almost blacked out from the G-force. It went down quite a bit and Matt struggled to keep the craft up. He swerved the plane hard to the right to avoid hitting a hill, and saw a field, perfect for crash landing, right behind it. "God, I hope that's enough land." He maneuvered the aircraft around and came in for an emergency landing. "Craft durability, don't fail me now!" The airplane slammed straight into the grassy field and skidded along the unnaturally flat land until slowing to a halt not far from the end of the field. "Alright. Now, to figure out what has happened in the past fifteen minutes." said Mike. > Chapter 3: Escape > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: Escape Mike was scared as to what had happened. Four fighter jets had just flown in front of him at 400 knots, turned around at an impossible angle, and stopped his plane in seconds. He looked at the wings protruding from either side of his craft, and quickly noticed three different horse-like animals under his left wing. One was purple, another cyan, the other butter yellow. Mike stepped back from his cock pit window as one of them, no, two of them looked up at him. "What the hell is happening?" he said to himself. --------- All there was was this big beast sitting in this open field, as well as Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight. Fluttershy flew up to the windows at the front and said, "Hello? Anypony there?" she waved a hoof in front of the glass as if it were eyes. "I don't think it talks," she said quietly to her friends on the ground, who were straining to hear. "either that," she continued, "or it's just shy." "It don't think it's shy," said Twilight. "I mean, look at it, it's huge!" Rainbow Dash flew up to it and knocked on the glass panes of the cockpit. "It's glass," she said. "What does that mean?" asked Fluttershy. "duh, it means that it's pony made. Hello!" Rainbow Dash tried to peer through the glass, but the tint was too dark. "Anypony in there? If there is, come on out!" "I don't think it's pony made, Rainbow." said Twilight. "Why would you think that?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Look at it! There's no way anypony could build such a thing!" Twilight had a point. The thing was massive, and obviously not pony made, and judging by what it was made of, it couldn't have been alive. "Well," said Fluttershy, "I think we should find a way in-" "Found one!" Rainbow Dash said quickly. She was flying next to a large door-like thing in the side of the beast. "Well, that was easy." said Twilight. "Now, lets find a way to open it." --------- Mike was trying to comprehend what he just saw. Two Pegasi, one cyan, one butter-yellow, were flying just outside his cockpit, seemingly trying to communicate with him. Great. That "portal" that he went through must have sent him to a magical land of intelligent, talking Pegasi. They must be searching his plane, looking for him. They had to have been doing it slowly and carefully, which meant they must be somewhere around the sides of his cockpit. There's no way he'd use the cockpit's door. He looked around the field where his plane was. The field was smaller then he originally thought, and the forest around it was rather close. He would use the cargo exit at the back, and bolt to the wilderness to escape the Pegasi. But how fast are they? Could they outrun him, or in this case, outfly him? He have to try. Mike opened the access door, connecting the cockpit to the fuselage. He looked through the empty space to the large cargo door at the very back. It didn't seem like a long distance at all. He just had to flick the switch on the control board, and bolt. It was now or never. He had to go. He flicked the switch and bolted toward the back of the aircraft. The door was opening slowly but surely. By the time he got there, it would be fully extended. He jumped onto the door as it was finishing its turn, and he ran through the tall grass straight for the safety of the woods. Mike didn't dare look back. He jumped over a bush and through the treeline. "Wait!" a voice came from behind him. There was no way he was slowing down. He continued running through the trees and bushes, when he tripped over a large fallen branch. He fell to the ground, and scrambled to get back up. "STOP!" the same voice came from behind him. Mike turned around to see the cyan Pegasus heading straight for him at an amazing speed. He got up and began running, but something hit his back and he collapsed again. "Would you calm down?!" the voice came again, sounding very close to him. He tried to get up, only to find out that he had been restrained. "Oh god..." thought Mike. "God... please... no...!" > Chapter 4: A new beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: A new beginning "Please..." whispered Mike as he struggled to move. "No..." Back in the 727, Mitch woke up in a panic. "MIKE! The throttle! If the engines are at different speeds..." His words trailed off as he noticed the pilot was no longer there. He looked outside the aircraft to see the airplane was sitting in an open field, and back to the control panel to see the landing gear lights off. He quickly realized there was an emergency landing while he was asleep. "Mike, ugh, you could have at least left a note!" With that he opened up the cockpit door to step outside, only to be greeted by, a Pegasus. "Oh, hello," "What the fudge cakes!" "oh, um, sorry if I startled you..." "YOU DON'T EXIST!" And with that, Mitch fell over on to the floor of the cockpit, unconscious. He had fainted. "Calm down, alright?" "You! Get your paws off me!" Mike was restrained under a branch, but he thought it was the cyan Pegasus. "Dash, I think you had the wrong approach." said Twilight. "How was it wrong?" "...You forced him to the ground and put a heavy branch on top of him." Mike now realized what restrained him. "Get this thing off me you dumb horses!" "Should we take it off just yet?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Maybe it would be a good idea to keep it on a little bit longer." replied Twilight. Mike continued to struggle. He got himself around so that he was on his back, and was looking at the faces of the Pegasus and the unicorn in front of him. He became to take note that the branch wasn't pushing down on him very hard. Why, he could easily get out in the position he was in. "Dumb... horses..." he said again, trying to fool the ponies he was about to go unconscious. "Should we go get Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. "You get her. I'm stay here to watch him." replied Dash. Mike noticed their attention was away from him. He pushed up on the branch with all his strength, until it was high enough that he could pull himself out. "Freedom!" he yelled as he ran into the woods. "Run all you want! I don't care!" yelled the Pegasus from behind him. "We were trying to help you, but you turned it down. This is your fault!" Help him? By pinning him to the ground with a rough branch? "Dumb horses." he said to himself as he sprinted into an incline. "That's all they are. Dumb, dumb, horses. --------- Mitch woke up. Wherever he was, he liked it. The smell of cheese was in the air. Though he didn't tell any of his friends or family about it, he was a man of cheese. He woke up to see the butter-yellow Pegasus floating above him waving a hunk of stinky cheese over is nose. He had woken up with a smile, and it was no longer there. "Get out," he said. "What? I..." started the Pegasus. "GET OUT! I AM NOT INSANE!" "What are you..." "YOU DO NOT EXIST! GET OUT!" the Pegasus held a hoof over his much to keep it closed. Mitch's eyes narrowed. "My name is Fluttershy. What is yours?" Mitch smiled again. He was going insane, he knew, but at least in a good way. "Mitch," he told Fluttershy. "It's very nice to meet you, Mitch. Is there anything you need?" "what I need," said Mitch, clearing his throat to continue. "I need to know where I am." "Equestria, just outside of Ponyville." There was a long pause between the two. "Where's Mike?" Mitch broke the silence. "Mike? Who's that?" asked Fluttershy. Mitch groaned. This would be hard to explain, wouldn't it? --------- "Oh you stupid moron!" yelled Mike, as he once again failed at climbing the steep incline. "I will kill you to death when I get up there!" he started up again, and slipped. "You mother... Stop doing that!" he yelled. "I WILL GET YOU EVENTUALLY! YOU'RE TRAPS CAN'T GO LIKE THIS FOREVER!" he yelled at the very top of his lungs. "I'm going insane. No no, I'm not insane. I am not insane! I just can't see him! He's up there! I'll get him!" he started up again, but slipped. Before he could go sliding back down the hill, he grabbed a branch. "Haha! You lose, I'm com-" the branch snapped, and he slid back down. "YOU SON OF A MICROSOFT WEB CAM!" --------- "Mike?" said Mitch, and sat up quickly. "What is it, Mitch?" asked Fluttershy. "I heard Mike!" "Um, are you sure about that?" "Yeah! He said something about Microsoft!" "About what?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Microsoft!" He ran out the door of Fluttershy's cottage. "MICROSOOOOOOOOOOFT!" he yelled. --------- "Yes! Microsoft!" said Mike, his sanity very low. "I need a new Windows computer. No need for delivery, I'll come to you!" he ran through the woods in the direction of the voice he had heard. He saw someone ahead of him. "Mike?!" the person yelled. "It's me! Mitch!" "Microsoft! I said no need of deliv-" Mike tripped over a branch and dove head first into a tree. "Mike? You alright?" Mike was knocked out cold. He was running full speed when he hit that tree. He had to have a concussion, or worse. "Mike?" Mike was not moving. "What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash, flying in before the others. "I found Mike, but he took an insane blow to the head." "How serious is it?" Fluttershy asked, coming in after Dash. "He's not moving, he's barely breathing," Mitch put two fingers on Mike's neck. "His heart rate's okay, but, oh my gosh!" he turned Mike over onto his back, to show the gash in his forehead. "Is that... Bone?" asked Twilight, trotting in lastly. Mike looked at the injury more closely. Mike's skull was showing, very clearly. "Why is there a crack in it?" asked Rainbow Dash, hovering over the humans. "Rainbow, you're fast, right?" asked Mitch. "Only the fastest in Equestria! Why?" "GET HELP!" > Chapter 5: What now? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: What now? "Mike? Mike, wake up!" "Mitch? What-what happened?" Mitch looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was hovering next to them. She nodded and whispered "Go" very quietly. "You landed the plane safely, but you hit your head." Mitch lied. "What did I hit my head off of?" asked Mike. Mitch shut his eyes. They hadn't thought of this. He opened them and looked up at Rainbow Dash, who only gave a shrug. "I don't know," he said to Mike. "I didn't see, I mean, I hit my head, too, and I was unconscious." "What did YOU hit your head off of?" Jeez, Mike can be annoying sometimes. "I don't know! I lost my memory." "...Who was piloting the plane?" "We were already on the ground, skidding to a halt-" "Where?" Mike was the one who had memory loss. "a field not far from here," "Where are we now?" "a hospital..." "Wh-what?" Mike stammered. He was panicked at this. He never really liked hospitals too much. "You hit your head, remember? You had a huge gash in your forehead. It was really bad." "How bad?" "...Your skull bone was showing, and it was cracked." "Great. Okay. Guess I'll recover," he sighed, feeling the stitches on his forehead. He looked around the room, and recognized it as a very normal hospital room. Until he looked up, behind Mitch. "Hey, Mitch?" "Yeah?" "What's that behind you?" Rainbow Dash was hovering in the same spot she had been for a while. "A Pegasus. No, you're not insane, I can see it too. I'll explain more after you're let out." "Mitch. What the HELL, is on its hind leg?" he was talking about her cutie mark. Mitch looked up at Dash's flank. "I don't know," he said. Neither Dash, Twilight nor Fluttershy had thought about explaining that. They both stared at the rainbow lightning strike coming from the cloud on Dash's right flank. Dash tried to explain, "You said we'd explain after recovery, right? Well-" "Oh god it talks!" Mike said, cutting off Dash. "I need that part explained right now!" "Well, uh," started Rainbow Dash. "You tell me what the hell's going on! YOU TELL ME NOW!" "Mike, calm down..." Mitch said. "Why the hell is that thing talking?!" "We're in another universe!" Mitch said quickly. He really had no idea, but Mike was becoming a bit of a pain. "Well, that's dandy. Where do we live, then?" "My best guess is with one of these horses." Mike started laughing. "You expect me to live with a horse. There's so many things I can say about that." he said. "I'd be happy to volunteer," said Rainbow Dash. "but I don't think humans can walk on clouds." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Mike. "I live in a house made of clouds." There was a very long pause. The only sounds was the clock ticking on the other side of the room, and the distant sounds of doctors and nurses and patients talking to each other throughout the floor. "You what?" asked Mike. "I live in a cloud house. Most Pegasi do." "You mean there's more of you?" "Yeah, ponies make up the entire population." another short pause. "And me and Mitch?" "I dunno. You two just randomly appeared through a portal or something." "So we're the only ones, of our species, on this planet." "As far as ponies know." Mike lay in the bed with a very surprised, and slightly fearful, look on his face. "I'm sure Fluttershy would be happy to have you stay with her, so, uh, gotta go!" she said quickly. And with that, Rainbow Dash flew out of the window. --------- "Thanks again, Fluttershy." said Mitch, as he entered Fluttershy's cottage. "No problem. As long as you're stuck in Equestria, I'm happy to help in any way I can." for the rest of the afternoon, Fluttershy explained to Mitch earth ponies, Pegasi and unicorns, and everything she had been taught about cutie marks, as well as how she and Dash got theirs. Everything that seemed important Mitch wrote on to a piece of paper to send to Mike. By the time they finished, it was evening. "Do you think the hospital's still open?" asked Mitch "Probably, but visiting hours are probably over." answered Fluttershy "That's what I meant by open." Mitch said "Oh, then no." Fluttershy replied. Mitch sighed a depressed sigh. "Is there something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, a concerned look on her face. "Yes. I'm living in a land ruled by ponies. I wanna go home, Fluttershy. I wanna go back to where I came from." an idea popped into Mitch's head. "Fluttershy, unicorns do magic, right?" "Yes they do. Um, why do you ask?" "Could Twilight cast a spell or something to get me, Mike and the plane back to Earth?" "Is Earth where you came from?" "Yeah," "Well, I don't know, but it seems possible." "well, what are we waiting for?" "Day. We're waiting for day. We can't just go to somepony's house at night." "Alright, good point. So, where do I sleep?" "Um, the couch, that is, if you don't mind." "You mean that couch?" Mitch said, pointing at the couch in Fluttershy's living room. "Yes. Um, I could sleep there, and you sleep in my bed..." "No, no. I insist. It's the least I could do." "Okay. I'll go get you a blanket." "Thanks," said Mitch, looking out a window to the setting sun. "can't wait," > Chapter 6: The Plan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: The Plan Mitch woke up from the sound of birds chirping. He got up, and looked around. "Fluttershy?" "I'm right here," Mitch turned around and saw Fluttershy, with a couple birds sitting in her mane. "Uh, Fluttershy? "I know, Mitch," "No, not that, where's the letter I was gonna send Mike?" "oh, I sent it myself." "What time is it?" "About five o'clock in the afternoon." "I've been asleep for that long? No matter, can we go to Twilight's house?" At that moment there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" said Fluttershy. Twilight opened the door with her magic, and walked in. "You and Mitch wanted to see me?" she asked. "Yes. Mitch?" Fluttershy replied, turning to Mitch. "Well, I-" "I already know. Fluttershy told me, and I have a spell to get you back." "You do?!" Mitch asked excitedly. "'Recent Teleportation Spell'" Twilight read aloud from the book in her saddle bag. "'This spell recognizes recent de-materialization and re-materialization to send the object or objects back to the de-materialization area, in its exact same form from when it de-materialized. This means that if a sentient being is sent back through the teleportation, it will lose all of its memories from the point when it was teleported to the time it was sent back through the spell, because the nerve impulses will be in the exact same state. This also happens with hunger, consciousness, injuries and thoughts.'" "So... all you have to do is do the spell on the plane with me and Mike in it, and we'll be back over Detroit on Earth?" "That's the plan!" exclaimed Twilight, and her and Fluttershy's faces lit up. "Without any memories of each other?" The mares' faces fell. Mitch sighed. "Well, we need to get back home... Wait, what about Mike? He can't leave the hospital with a skull fracture." "That's right," Twilight said with a small sigh. "so you're stuck here at least until your friend, Mike, recovers." "What do I do in the mean time?" "Well, I passed Rainbow Dash on the way here, and she wanted to know more about aeronautics in your world, to get ideas on how to fly faster." "Ideas on how to fly faster." Mitch said with a chuckle. "How fast can a simple Pegasus like her fly anyway?" "Well, at the Best Young Fliers competition last year, she managed to fly 76,000 miles per hour." Fluttershy explained. Mitch's jaw dropped, but then he starting laughing. "A horse with wings flying at 76,000 miles per hour. That's," Mitch paused for a moment to do some quick calculations. "that's Mach 10! There's no way she could do that! Sorry, Fluttershy, but I need some proof. And if she can fly that fast, why does she need to go faster?" "You need proof, do ya?" Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed in the open doorway. "I'll give you proof!" "Rainbow, were you following me?" asked Twilight. Dash quickly looked in one direction, then the other, with a guilty expression on her face. "Nooo..." --------- 2 hours later --------- "Is that proof enough?" asked Rainbow Dash. Mitch looked at the huge rainbow explosion above him with an open jaw and wide eyes. "Yeah. But, uh, you wanted me to give you advice to go faster?" "Yup!" "You can go 76,000 miles per hour, and you want to go faster?" "If I can go fast, why not go faster?" "Rainbow, I can't give you any advice. My time is more advanced then yours. We didn't even have anything that could fly more then 100 years ago. And your time is about 500 years before ours, or something. We have technology you don't." "Well, okay. What about acceleration techniques?" "Try engines," "Whats? "I told you we have technology you don't." --------- "Handling?" "No," "Air resistance?" "No," "Are you even thinking of techniques?" "No," "Are you going to?" "No," "Do you want me to leave you alone?" "No. I mean yes," "You said no first. Braking?" "No! Go away!" "Fine, jeez." that pony, Mike thought, is almost as annoying as Mitch. Rainbow Dash turned around before leaving the hospital room. "Thrust?" "NO!" Mike yelled. Rainbow Dash giggled to herself, and left the room. "Thank god that's over." Mike said to himself. Rainbow Dash poked her head through the doorway. "What about techniques to avoid weather?" "NURSE!" > Chapter 7: "Cupcakes" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: "Cupcakes" "So that's the plan?" asked Mike. "One hell of a plan, seeing as though it involves 'magic'." "You know, sir, unicorns have been practicing magic for centuries." said Twilight. "What a great way to waste several centuries." "Mike," said Mitch, "how do you think we got here?" "I hit my head, like you said. How should I know?" "We went through a portal when flying over Detroit." "Well, that's believable." "As believable as talking Pegasi, unicorns and ponies with cutie marks?" asked Twilight. "You have officially made me believe in magic." Mike replied. "So, when do we go?" "As soon as you recover." Mitch explained. "Why not go right now if my injury will just disappear?" "No one recovering leaves the hospital, unless there's an extreme emergency." a nurse in the other side of the room said. "How long will that be?" asked Mike. "Four days for you." the nurse said. "Four days. Then we go back." Mitch said. "Alright, enjoy your recovery, uh, Mike." Twilight said, turning to leave with Mitch. "I'm sure it'll be oh so enjoyable." Mike said sarcastically. --------- Mitch walked through the Everfree forest, admiring the fine scenery. The land of Equestria really was pretty. There was a beautiful view of the mountains behind the trees in the Everfree Forest. They were tinted the perfect shade of blue from water vapor, thanks to the weather team. He took a bite from the hunk of cheddar cheese he took for his walk, when a familiar Pegasus swooped down in front of him. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. What's up?" "Not much. Say, what do you think of the tinted mountains? Got the water vapor thickness just right, didn't I?" "Oh, that was you? You did a great job. They look really good." Mitch said, admiring the mountains as the water vapor began to turn into clouds. "Urgh! I hate it when they do that! It ruins the scenery." "It's a force of nature, you can't control it." "That's where you're wrong. The Pegasi control weather, but only authorized ones can make natural stuff not happen over the Everfree. I can cause stuff like water vapor no problem. But if I make a big rainstorm I can get in trou-" "Whoa, Rainbow, you're confusing me. Slow down. Oh wait, I get it." Mitch laughed. "So you can cause stuff like water vapor, but you can't make it rain?" "Any Pegasus can make rain clouds, but making a big rainstorm over anywhere is strictly prohibited. Pegasi get in trouble for that." "What about farmland? Don't they need water from rain clouds?" "Oh, if the weather team in Canterlot tell us Pegasi in Ponyville we need a heavy downpour, we make a heavy downpour. If they say we need a foggy day, we make a foggy day. We obey authorities, but it's boring that way." "I know how you feel. Hey, uh, why are your wings open?" "My wings? What? Oh! Uh, that's what Pegasi do when they're just about to take flight." Dash said, taking into the air. "Well then why does Fluttershy do it in her cottage sometimes, even though she's not about to fly?" Mitch asked suspiciously. "It's a long story," Rainbow said, getting nervous. "I have plenty of time," "Oh! I just remembered I gotta be at Sugar Cube Corner!" "Where's that?" "Just to the right of the West entrance to town, the entrance closest to Fluttershy's!" Dash sped off fast. Mitch shrugged and took another bite of his cheese. --------- 10 minutes later, Sugar Cube Corner --------- This is Sugar Cube Corner? Mitch though, looking up at the giant ginger bread house in front of him. Well, wouldn't doubt that... He walked into the shop and saw Rainbow Dash and a pink pony talking to each other. "...I'll be here this afternoon," he heard Dash say. "Hey Dash," Rainbow Dash turned around, and her wings opened almost instantly after seeing him. "Dash, you're doing that again." Dash jumped and beated her wings, hovering in the middle of the room. Mitch rolled his eyes, then locked them on the pink pony. Dash looked at her, then back. "That's Pinkie Pie," she explained to Mitch. "Uh-huh, a pony named Pinkie Pie working at a bakery. And who's this?" He gestured to the stallion behind the counter. "I'm Mr. Cake," the stallion explained. "Shoulda known," he laughed to himself, and then looked into his eyes. "you have a wife and two kids." "How did you know?" asked Mr. Cake. "I dunno, I just know specific things about, uh, other humans, by looking into their eyes." Mitch answered. "One of your kids is a Pegasus, the other is a unicorn." "Wow, you're good," complemented Dash. "Oh! Do me, do me!" said Pinkie Pie. "You're a cannibalistic murderer," --------- "That was weird, you saying Pinkie is a cannibalistic murderer." Rainbow Dash said, hovering next to Mitch as he walked through the forest to Fluttershy's house, holding a box of cupcakes. "Well, I usually read people's eyes, and now I'm doing it on ponies. Different species, different results. I could be wrong." "True, but you knew Mr. Cake really well." "Well, maybe my eye reading made a mistake. Anyway, what were you talking to Pinkie Pie about?" "I went over there because Pinkie said she had fun stuff for us to do, but she said I'd have to wait until this afternoon." "You know what else is weird? I also read in Mr. Cake's eyes he and his wife are heading to a park to entertain their children this afternoon." "Wow, you're really good. I wonder why she wants us to be alone at Sugar Cube Corner though?" "Beats me," they came into a clearing in the woods, with Fluttershy's cottage in the distance. "I gotta go, Mitch," Rainbow Dash said, "I wanna practice tricks over Ponyville." "Do what you gotta do." He told her, walking over the bridge to Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow Dash flew off back towards Ponyville at an amazing speed. Mitch opened the door and set the box of cupcakes he had on the coffee table. "Hi, Fluttershy. Want a cupcake?" Mitch said as he opened the box, revealing a dozen delicious looking cupcakes. "Oh, yes please. Where did you get them?" Fluttershy asked, trotting into the room. "Sugar Cube Corner. Here's the bits you gave me earlier." "But, weren't you going to spend them?" "Yeah, but it turns out a pony named Pinkie Pie baked me a dozen cupcakes as a welcome present, or something. She says she put in her "special ingredient", do you have any idea what it is?" "No, but she tells everypony that asks that they'll find out one day." "Huh, touched in the head, is she?" "Yes, a little," explains why I thought she's a cannibalistic murderer. Mitch thought. doesn't mean she is. The sun was setting outside the cottage. Mitch lit a couple candles, and read a book while eating a few cupcakes. When he took a bite out of a cupcake, he made a funny face at the weird tasting cupcake. Sugary, definitively, a little bit of iron, no, alot of iron, and other things he couldn't decipher. Why does it taste, he thought, and took another moment to recognize the taste. Like blood? > Chapter 8: Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8: Problem Fluttershy floated through the cottage to the door with a small bag of birdseed in her mouth. She looked over and saw Mitch laying on the couch with his hand on his forehead, and set the bag of birdseed down to talk. "Everything alright, Mitch?" she asked. "No. Everything is not alright. I'm bored as hell." Mitch said in reply. "Language, Mitch," Fluttershy reminded him. "Love and tolerance," Mitch said, remembering the talk they had that morning. "three days, still. Time as a pilot usually goes fast. Flying the planes makes hours seem like minutes. And it only seems like every other day FedEx wants us to fly a load of cargo out of Detroit. Sometimes I wish time would slow down, so that I could enjoy my life a bit more. But now, it's coming true. And I wish everything would go super speedy like it always did in Detroit." "I spend most of my time tending to the animals. I was just going to refill my bird feeder, when I saw you like this." "Work! I need a job! Flying planes from Detroit to other cities was my job on Earth, and that's how I spent time there! What time is it?" "Um," Fluttershy trotted to a window to look at her sundial outside. "1:49," "There's still several hours of the day left. Several hours to work!" "Um, where would you work, though?" "On a farm. Like I did when I was a kid." Mitch was excited. "There is a farm somewhere, right?" "Um, yes, Sweet Apple Acres, just up the road. It's an apple orchard. Mitch?" "It'll be just like the good old days." "Mitch?" "I was on a wheat farm, you know, but I think I'm fully capable of picking apples." "Mitch?" "Oh, I just can't wait to get started! Where was it, again?" "Mitch, listen! Oh, I mean, that is, if you don't mind." "Yeah, what?" "I got a letter from the hospital saying Mike's recovery has been very fast, and he can be let out early." "When?" "3:00," "Great! Is there anything else the letter said?" "Yes, um, he had slight genital damage because one of the machines accidentally fell on him." Fluttershy's wings suddenly opened, and Mitch burst out laughing. --------- Mitch was on another stroll through the Everfree forest, when just like yesterday, Rainbow Dash swooped down in front of him, holding a cupcake. "Heya, Mitch! I got you a cupcake!" she said, handing it over to him. "Where'd you get it?" he asked. "Sugar Cube Corner, where else?" she asked. "I don't like Sugar Cube Corner's cupcakes." "What?!" Rainbow Dash trotted in front of Mitch and stopped. "How do you not like cupcakes?" "I like cupcakes, I just don't like their cupcakes. They taste kinda weird." "Weird how?" "They taste like blood. You can have the eleven cupcakes I didn't eat last night." Mitch walked around her, but she stepped in front of him. "How do they taste like blood?" "They're sugary, and-" "SUGARY! You think a cupcake tastes like blood because it's sugary!" Rainbow fell on her back, laughing at Mitch's remark. "They also taste high in iron. Too high, I mean." that shut Dash up. "No, they don't," Dash protested. Mitch rolled his eyes at her again. "I think it might have to do with her 'special ingredient', whatever it is. Do you have any idea?" "No," "Well, whatever it is, it's high in sugar and iron." --------- 3:10, that day --------- "It should be right over here, come on!" Twilight led Mitch and Mike through the woods towards the plane so they could get out of here already. They came into the clearing where the plane had crash landed. "Oh no!" said Twilight "You gotta be kidding me," Mike said, throwing his head back. "No, no, no, no! This can't be happening! Not now, not this plane! No! NO! NO!!!!" There was a problem here, a very, very big problem. --------- 4 hours earlier --------- "This is a bad idea, Applebloom," Sweetie Belle complained "Don't worry about it, Sweetie," said Scootaloo. "Look!" Applebloom exclaimed, "There it is!" she was pointing a hoof at the huge plane in the open field. The Cutie Mark Crusaders climbed through the large cargo door to reach the cockpit. "Shouldn't we be at school right now?" asked Sweetie. She was eager to get out of this. "Hey, Scoot, I hear Rainbow Dash is doing a big display over the schoolyard!" Scootaloo gasped. "She is?" "No, she isn't!" Applebloom cut in "She stopped flyin' and went to Sugar Cube Corner." "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to Sugar Cube Corner!" Scootaloo said, and flew off. "I think I'm gonna go, too." Sweetie Belle said, and started to trot off the aircraft. "Huh, ya big baby! Thought you'd have more guts!" Applebloom teased. "Hey! I'm no big baby!" Sweetie said back. "Then get over here and lets try to get piloting cutie marks!" so, Sweetie Belle trotted into the cockpit of the plane, and sat in the co-pilot seat, with Applebloom in the pilot's. "Right, so, uh, how do we do this?" Applebloom asked. "Try these levers here!" said Sweetie Belle, pushing one of the levers in between the seats upwards all the way. The right engine at the back of the plane began spinning from electricity, until the afterburner kicked in and it let out a horrible racket. "What's happening?!" Applebloom yelled over the roar of the engine. "The fan thing at the back! It's spinning really fast!" she gasped. "If it's spinning really fast, it's throwing air behind it, right? Well, isn't that what Pegasi do when they flap their wings?" "Right!" yelled back Applebloom, and pushed the other two levers forward, starting up the other two engines. "Nothing's happening!" yelled Sweetie Belle after a while. "Uh, try some of these buttons!" the two started pressing random buttons, until the cargo door at the back closed, and the cockpit door closed, locking the two fillies in. The engines suddenly got louder, and the plane started skidding forward to the hill in front of them. "Yes! They must have tah be closed fer safety!" Applebloom yelled, though she no longer had to. "What do we do when we get to the hill?" asked Sweetie, as the plane got closer to the hill. "It'll be like one of them movies, right? Where we go off a cliff and then fly?" Applebloom said. "I don't think that happens in real life!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. The nose of the plane began to go over the edge of the hill. "So what do we do?" asked Applebloom in a panic. "RUN!" yelled Sweetie Belle, running to the cockpit door and pulling on the red handle. "Help me with this!" she yelled. Applebloom jumped on the handle, and forced it down. Sweetie pushed on the big metal door, and it opened with ease. The two jumped out just as the plane started to slide down the steep hill, and ducked as the wing passed over them. The plane hit a large rock and went sideways, which caused the wings, rudder, elevator and all three engines to snap off, as well as the cockpit door. The two fillies watched the aircraft roll down the hill, until it finally came to a stop on the bottom, where the ground went up and became another hill. This wasn't just a steep hill, it was a valley. "Hey guys, I was at Sugar Cube Corner, and I thought I heard Dash screaming... What is that down there?" Scootaloo asked, pointing a hoof in the direction of the plane sitting in the crook of land. "And what is that? And that? And that?" she began pointing at the pieces of plane that had fallen off, and then stopped. "Ohhh, you guys are in big trouble!" "Well, this is a problem, wait, what'd you say 'bout Rainbow Dash?" asked Applebloom. > Chapter 9: Repair > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9: Repair "We can still do this, right? We can just send each piece individually." Mike suggested. "Actually, that would make the pieces reappear on Earth at different times..." Twilight explained. "...Which means we need to fix the plane if we want to have a plane with a wing, rudder, elevator and/or engines." "I'm guessing those are essential?" asked Applejack, and all three of them turned around to see Applejack and Rarity. "Have any of you seen Sweetie Belle?" asked Rarity. "Or Applebloom?" asked Applejack. "No, but we think they were here," said Twilight. "Yeah," said Applejack, "we heard a huge crash and guessed they must be over here. What happened?" "They tossed our plane down a mountain." Mike explained. "Could we just pile up all the pieces so you could send us back?" "Yes!" Twilight exclaimed. Mike jumped down the hill and pushed on and engine. Mitch jumped down and helped. The engine slipped from the strong branch it was sitting on, and rolled down the mountain. It rolled over the rudder, and it slipped slightly. The engine struck the side of the fuselage, and left a nice sized dent. Mike ran to the next engine. "Mike, slow down!" yelled Mitch, as Mike jumped on an engine, and it instantly slipped, and rolled down the mountain like the other. It hit one half of the elevator, propped up against a tree, and making it fall as well. He ran to an engine stuck on a rock, and started trying to push it free. "Help me!" he yelled up to Mitch. Mitch ran down, and started pushing on the engine. It wasn't budging, it was just too heavy. The engine suddenly had a transparent purple force shield. It lifted off the ground, went over the rock, and rolled down the hill. "Need help?" asked Twilight. "Hey, uh, you know we're here, too?" Applejack said. "Uh-huh, sure," said Mike, picking up part of a flap that broke off. "What 'bout Applebloom?" she asked. "And Sweetie Belle," added Rarity. "Scootaloo!" yelled Twilight. "What 'bout Scoot?" asked Applejack. "If I know anything about Scootaloo, I know she's very fond of Rainbow Dash. She would want to go wherever Dash goes. And about an hour ago, Rainbow Dash went to Sugar Cube Corner!" Twilight explained. "Why, you're right!" Rarity said. "Ya think they'd still be there?" asked Applejack. "If they aren't, you could ask Mr. or Mrs. Cake." Twilight said. "Well, off we go, then! Thanks for tha help, Twilight!" said Applejack, and she and Rarity galloped off. "'Kay, we got all the little stuff!" yelled Mitch. Twilight turned to them, and concentrated her magic to one of the wings, turned it upright, and let it fall over onto the fuselage. She did the same with the other. At this rate, Mike & Mitch would be out of here in no time. Two Pegasi flew over, and one stopped for a moment. "Pegasi are making a thunderstorm!" she warned. "Better get inside. It'll be fierce." "Come on, Quanda!" yelled the male Pegasus that was leading her. "We need to warn more ponies!" "I'm coming, Rupert!" she yelled back, and they both flew off. --------- The thunder outside cracked again. It had been pouring rain for a few hours now. Mitch turned and saw Mike sitting on the stairs of Twilight's library, giggling to himself as he read a book about aeronautics. "Mitch, listen to this; 'Weather cannot happen by itself, and Pegasi need to create clouds, water vapor, lightning, and rainbows. Most of these are created in cloud cities, such as Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus.'" Mike stopped reading for a moment to have a fit of laughing. He continued, "'Clouds are also used as a building material for these cities. They are created by pouring water into large cauldrons with heated coal or wood under them. The water boils, and steam is collected in cones above the cauldrons, and after several hours, the steam turns into clouds.'" Mike burst into another fit of laughter, and flipped through a few pages. "Twilight, didn't Rarity and Applejack say they'd be here?" Mitch asked Twilight. "Yes, I don't know why they aren't here." she replied. "This is getting weird. I haven't seen Dash since she left to go to Sugar Cube Corner today." "Maybe they're all taking shelter there. You wanna go check?" "After the storm, we should-" Mitch was cut off by Mike. He was laughing insanely hard. Mitch and Twilight looked after and saw him rolled over on his stomach, a look of pure joy on his face, and his mouth wide open from laughter. "Mike, what's so funny?" Mitch asked with a giggle. Mike pointed at the book. He tried to talk, but his laughter drowned it out. Mitch picked up the book, smiling, getting ready to laugh as hard as Mike was. The book was opened to the glossary. Mitch looked through it. "The W's!" Mike managed through his laughter. Mitch looked at the W section of the glossary of the Pegasi Aeronautics book: W Weaknesses; 58, 59, 60, 61 Weather; 38, 39, 60, 78, 103 Wings; 44, 45, 46 Wing boner; 46 "God damnit, Mike. You can't be that immature." > Chapter 10: Ketchup > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 10: Ketchup The thunder cracked again. Mitch looked up from the book he was reading to the flicker of light it brought. Mike was upstairs having a nap, and Twilight was in the other wing of the library. He looked out and saw ponies galloping about, looking for shelter in the heavy downpour. The area lit up from lightning. One was galloping faster then the others. Mitch couldn't make out its cutie mark, but it looked sort of like a big round red blob. It appeared to be an Earth Pony, and it had what appeared to be scratches on its belly. It was cyan, just like Rainbow Dash. It even had the same mane. The thunder came. Mitch got closer to the window. Is it... he thought. No, it couldn't be. It's an Earth Pony. he sat back down on the stairs another lightning strike illuminated the sky. Another pony, seemingly chasing the first, come into view. It was bright pink, with a dark pink mane and tail, and had a cutie mark of three balloons. CRACK. Mitch narrowed his eyes, then shook his head. No, that pony had a straight mane and tail. Pinkie's is puffy, even in rain, right? He thought. WAH-BANG The door swung opened harshly. "NO!" he heard somepony yell, and the door whipped shut before he could turn around. Mitch shuddered. He stared at the door where the noises come from. He stood up and walked slowly down the stairs and to the door. "H-hello? A-a-anyone there?" He stuttered, approaching the door. He grabbed a broom and raised the wooden handle above his head with one hand, while reaching for the handle with the other. He quickly turned the handle and pushed the door open, grabbing the broom with both hands. "Hiya, Mitch! Doing some cleanup?" Pinkie Pie said to him. "Uh, yeah-" "May I come in?" "Of course," Mitch scratched his head. What just happened? He thought. Mitch looked out the door, looking one way and the next. It seemed like nothing but a blackened street during a heavy downpour. He shut the door. He looked over at Pinkie Pie, who was taking off her saddlebags. Her hair was puffy, like usual. "Pinkie, have you seen Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie froze. "Yeah, she came in my store this afternoon." "Did she tell you where she was going?" "Uh, no." "What was she doing at your store?" Mitch narrowed his eyes. "Sh-she was, uh, g-getting, a, um, a c-cake." "Why?" "She was probably throwing a party." "Wouldn't you, being the party pony, help her with that?" Mitch crossed his arms, and smirked. "I did. That's what I did all afternoon. After we were done, I left to go here." "Wouldn't you want to take shelter at Sugarcube Corner?" Mitch's eyes narrowed further. "Well, I was just coming here to, uh, just um, Twilight invited me. I didn't want to let down my friend." Mitch's smirk went away. "Funny, no one else came." He said, and got his smirk back. "Well, maybe there not as good friends." "No wonder you murdered one." Mitch covered his mouth and his eyes widened. "Does this have something to do with you thinking I'm a cannibalistic murderer?" said Pinkie, obviously offended. "No! No, no, I'm sorry I said that. It was the wrong thing to say, I'm dreadfully sorry." "Hmph!" Pinkie trotted into the other wing of the library. Mitch looked at the saddlebags, sitting on a table. He walked right up to them. They had a simple button latch design. Mitch simply grabbed the cover, and pulled it off. The button gave off a pop as it came free of its socket. Inside the saddlebag was four large jars of... Ketchup? Of all things! He thought. He reached towards the other saddlebag. "What are you doing?!" Mitch turned around to see a very shocked, surprised Pinkie standing in the doorway to the other wing of the library. "Why do you have these in your saddlebags?" Mitch asked. Pinkie sighed, and looked at the ground. "Now you know. It's my special ingredient," she admitted. "Where did you get all this-" "From Dash! It's Dash's! I took it from her!" A tear rolled down her cheek. "You stole a bunch of ketchup from Rainbow Dash to make cupcakes?" Pinkie looked up. "Yeees, ketchup. Uh, please don't tell anypony!" "Okay..." Mitch opened a jar and dipped his finger in, and licked the ketchup. There was so much iron in it, he could taste it. Pinkie trotted towards the other wing of the library. "How does she get it to taste like this?" Mitch said aloud. "Beats me, but it satisfies customers," said Pinkie, and she closed the door behind her. Pinkie robbed Dash. That's not odd at all. --------- The storm was finally letting up. Mitch decided he'd keep the robbery thing to himself, and he spent the night reading research books. By the morning, he couldn't decipher why, because he'd forget anyway. Twilight trotted down the stairs and past Mitch. Mike followed. They didn't say a word to each other, and looked disappointed. "What's up?" Asked Mitch. "Nothing. Nothing is up," replied Mike. "Exactly," added Twilight. "I think something's up," said Mitch. "Pegasi," responded Twilight, and trotted out of the library. "Mike, what happened?" Mitch asked. "Come on, Mitch, we're going to the crash site to head home." Mike told him. Mitch rolled his eyes, just as Mike walked out. Pinkie came down. "Think something's up with them?" She asked. "Yes, yes I do," replied Mitch. Pinkie Pie put on her saddlebags, and they both stepped out of the library. "I'll be heading to Sugarcube Corner to store my special ingredient. I'll get to the crash site as fast as I can," she said, and trotted in the opposite direction. Mitch watched her trot away from the library towards Sugarcube corner, which was barely visible over several buildings. "Be back soon," he heard her say. "Okay," said Mitch, and turned to leave as well. As he walked, he thought. Pinkie Pie wasn't looking at him when she said that, she was looking at a bush. He neared the crash site. Be back soon, she had said to the bush. He thought another moment about the bush, remembering as much as he could from the glance he gave to it and Pinkie. Something was sticking out from the bottom of the bush, like a snake. But, it was blue. Cyan blue. > Chapter 11: Exiting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 11: Exiting The thought of the cyan thing sticking from the bottom of the bush bugged him. Could it be related to the two ponies he saw galloping down the road the night before? It didn't matter. Mitch didn't need to figure it out, he'd forget everything anyway. He sighed. Forgetting everything, Fluttershy and her cottage, Rainbow Dash and that amazing Sonic Rainboom, Twilight and the library... Mitch came up to the edge of the incline and looked down the hill. Mike and Twilight were arguing about something. As soon as they saw Mitch was watching them, Mike simply walked to the fuselage of the plane with all the metal debris around it, and sat down. Mitch slid down the side of the hill to the fuselage. Nopony had come except for Twilight, and they all said they'd come, except Fluttershy. "Come on, guys. There's gotta be a reason why you two are mad at each other," said Mitch. He turned to Twilight. "Just tell me, you'll never see me again, anyway." "I think it's a good thing," said Mike. "Indeed it is!" Twilight said, glaring at Mike, who returned a scowl. Mitch sat down away from the plane. "Um, Mitch, you need to be close to the plane if you want this to work," Twilight told him. "Not until you tell me what's going on." Mitch said, and made himself comfortable where he was. Mike got up and walked up the rudder, which was propped up on the fuselage, making a convenient stairway. Mike started staring at something at the top of the hill with a curious look. Mitch turned around to see. Up at the top of the hill, was a pony, which looked exactly like the one Mitch saw the other night. "HELP!" It yelled. Its voice was exactly that of Rainbow Dash's, but more scared. More desperate. Mitch backed up to the fuselage. "Alright, you win! Get us out of here!" He said to Twilight. He took the rudder up on to the fuselage, and stood next to Mike. Twilight's horn began to glow, and the plane was covered in a purple aura. Now that Mitch was below this cyan pony, he noticed things about her. She was in fact a Pegasus, but her wings weren't there. In their place was two stubs. She had gotten her wings cut off. Her cutie mark wasn't a big red blob, it was missing from the skin. It had been removed as well. and as for the scratches on its belly, it was in a very approximate "I" shape, but was incomplete. If it was complete, her skin would be open, and vital organs hanging out. Mitch gagged at the thought. He even took a moment to realize something about this pony he didn't see before. She was dragging copper wires attached to metal spikes driven into her forehooves behind her. She looked behind her, and was suddenly tackled by a pink pony. Exactly the one Mitch saw chasing the other last night. They both tumbled down the hill until they hit a dead tree that had fallen over. The cyan one grabbed a rock and started hitting the pink one with it. First hit, she was unconscious. A few more hits, and her nose started to bleed, seemingly, no, obviously broken. The cyan pony wasn't stopping. She kept hitting and hitting the pink one. The skin on her forehead peeled away, revealing a fractured skull. Mitch gagged at the sight. He tried to run and stop the cyan pony, but Mike held his arm. Mitch looked back at him. "What are you doing?!" Mitch yelled at him. "Would you rather save a non existent creature, or go home?" He asked, gesturing to Twilight. Mitch looked down and nodded. He looked up again to the two ponies. The cyan one was on its side, its chest rising and lowering quickly, like it was sobbing. The pink one lay motionless, the rock through its skull, and obviously penetrating her brain. Mitch gagged again, this time vomiting on the fuselage. The purple aura on the plane suddenly grew brighter and brighter until the plane was consumed by nothing but pure light, and then it was gone. The plane, the pilots, the cargo, gone. As well as the pure light. --------- "Mike! The throttle! If the engines are at different speeds, the plane will bank!" Mitch said urgently. "Not an option, throttle's locked, too." "Well, then what?" "Try the auto pilot again-" the radio suddenly came to life. "Unknown aircraft, please identify." It said. "FEDEX 343," Mike said. Mitch flicked the auto pilot button. The plane banked to the right. They both looked at the coursing machine, which was pointing to Coleman A. Young International. The plane continued to turn until the coursing machine was straight. "FEDEX Flight 343? The plane that went missing four days ago?" Mitch and Mike looked at each other, confused. "Detroit tower, is runway One-Five still clear?" Asked Mike. "Affirmative, 343, you're clear for landing on runway One-Five. Fire crews at the ready." "Fire crews are unnecessary, we lost control for a moment, but there's no fires or explosions." "Uh, copy that." --------- END --------- A/N: I'm sorry I referenced Cupcakes so much. I can't get it out of my head. I told somepony in the comments I'd tone it down, and I can honestly say, I've tried to, but I can't. I'm an addict. Sorry about the gory scene near the end, and I'm also sorry I never lengthened the chapters. > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epilogue --------- "Alright, why are we meeting, again?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Well, remember those humans we encountered a year ago?" Twilight responded. "Yeah?" said Dash, "oh, you mean the two that came in the aircraft?" "Exactly!" Twilight said. "And one of them accidentally had sex with you-" "I don't need to be reminded!" Twilight said quickly. Dash giggled. "So, what about them?" she asked. "Well, one of them told me our time period is Medieval, and this is one of the things Medieval times had." Twilight levitated a curved piece of wood with its ends tied together by a string. She loaded a stick with a sharp piece of flint on one end, used it to force the string back, and let go of it to let the stick be launched about 3 feet away. "Neato! What's it called?" asked Dash. "A bow and arrow," explained Twilight. Twilight levitated another arrow and pulled the string back much farther, caused the wood to bend. Twilight released the string and the arrow shot out and soared through the air. "Wow!" Dash was fascinated. "Hold still," said Twilight. She levitated an apple on top of Dash's head. "What are you doing?" she asked. "The human told me this is what they did with bows & arrows." "I don't quite understand," "They sometimes shot arrows at apples sitting on each other's heads." "I'm not too sure about this." "Trust me! I'm a unicorn using magic, I should have great accuracy!" "Should?" Asked dash. Twilight glared at her. She levitated the bow in front of her, loaded an arrow and aimed for the apple. She pulled the string back really far so the arrow would fly perfectly straight. "Uh, Twilight?" "Relax!" She took a couple more seconds to aim, and prepared to fire. A sneeze caught her off guard and she pointed the bow down as the bow fired the arrow. Twilight heard Rainbow Dash fall to the ground, and looked up to discover what she had done. An arrow was submerged halfway into her right eye, the apple somehow perfectly balanced on top of it. "Oops..." she whispered to herself.