A Wrench in the Plans by Aileen Rose

Differences

  Thorn and Lightning had spent the night in a small cave they had found up in the mountains. There were only there for a little bit before hunger woke them up. They were able to find food easily thanks to being so close to farmland.

"Well... least we won't go hungry." Lightning said as she ate away at her corn.

"Yeah... after this, we go look for Dash right?"

Lightning nodded.

"She's gotta be somewhere, there's no way she'd just crash and give up."

"But what if she's seriously hurt?"

"Then we better find her fast so we can help her... but let's just assume she's okay, better to not panic."

Thorn nodded. "Just need to be prepared for anything."

Once they were done, they stepped out looking around them. Still remembering the creature from the other day that chased them they didn't want to repeat it. Seeing it was all clear on the ground they took off into the air.

Dash you better be okay... Thorn thought looking around for the mare. I'll be really upset if you got hurt...

She looked ahead of her and nearly slammed into what was coming at her. A smaller version of the creature that had knocked them off course. Or rather... a large flock of them.

"Oh... Crud."

They came on at alarming speed, carrying Thorn and Lightning away with them.

"I HATE THIS PLACE!" Lightning shouted.

"I KNOW YOU DO!" Thorn yelled over the sounds of the creatures. "Ugh, get back!" She tried speeding up.

Lightning tried doing the same, seeing if she could tap into her magic flight for just one moment. She found no harm just using a little in case of emergencies. This was one for her. But... she couldn't feel it at all.

What the...?

She kept frantically flapping her wings, but nothing came on. All that happened was she kept getting tangled up in more of the creatures.

"Oh come on!"

Thorn growled a little and bucked at one in mid air. "I got an idea! Treat it like we're finally getting even with Echo and Bravo! No mercy!"

Lightning nodded and started bucking at the creatures. Slowly the flock started to disperse, giving the mares some room.

"Finally..." Lightning said with a heavy sigh.

Thorn nodded catching her breath. "This is ridiculous." She said after a moment. "Giant crazy metal creatures!? No magic!? Are these guys just plain INSANE!?" She shrieked a little.

"I can't count how many times we've asked that question, but at this point this is just another example of their craziness... We need to get out of here as fast as we can as soon as we find Dash. I don't want to spend another minute here."

The brown mare gave a nod. "Right... And when we get back I am SO gonna give those two chuckle heads a piece of my mind... I can live with my tail getting burnt off, worth it I say!"

Lightning nodded. "Let's go find find our companion."

"Right... Let's hurry, who knows what she ran into..."

-------

Rainbow had slept well through the night. She felt a lot better when she had woken up. Most of her soreness was starting to fade and she felt full of energy again.

She noticed upon awakening that Dusty wasn't around.

Guess he had something to do. She thought, getting up.

She leaned against the walls for support as she made her way outside the hangar. She watched from the doorway as she saw creatures of all sorts were milling about the little area, doing whatever they were they were doing.

She scanned the crowd for Dusty but didn't see him anywhere.

Wonder where he went...

A loud roaring sound filled the air. Rainbow looked to the skies, her jaw dropping as she saw Dusty up in the sky with another plane beside him.

"That's it Dusty! Keep it up!" The plane shouted.

Dusty gave a nod and flew on through the sky.

He... He's flying... Rainbow thought. Metal Birds... that must be it. Planes are Metal Birds... Okay, that makes sense.

Rainbow kept out of the sight of the other creatures as she made her way around to watch Dusty. Seemed like he was doing exercises of some sort. It kind of reminded her of all the training drills back on Flysenhower.

But just how he was flying... was just unbelievable.

He doesn't even flap his wings... he just... glides...

After a bit, Dusty came in for a landing, the other plane right behind him.

"Nicely done Dusty." the plane said.

"Thanks, Skip, I'll see you later."

Dusty made his way over to hangar. He grinned when he saw Rainbow.

"Look who decided to finally wake up." he said with a chuckle.

Rainbow smirked a little. "I was in an accident, I have rights to sleep in."

"Heh, feeling any better?"

"Little bit, not perfect though... That was awesome what you were doing up there."

Dusty gave a sheepish look. "Thanks, just keeping in shape for races."

"Still awesome... you think you could show me sometime when my wings get better?" Rainbow asked, giving a bit of a puppy dog look.

... Okay... that is adorable.

Dusty smiled. "Sure, I'll try. Hungry?"

"Yes!"

"Let's get you something to eat then, hop on."

Rainbow nodded, climbing onto his wing.

As he made his way for the Fill N Fly, Rainbow couldn't help but start asking questions.

"How were you flying?"

"Hm? What do you mean? You just saw me up there."

"Yeah, but I don't know how you got up there. You weren't even flapping your wings.... Uh... they are wings right?" She gave his wings a good tap.

"Yep, and I've never flapped them in my life."

"Then how do you get up in the air?"

"Get my engine going, my propeller spinning, build up speed, then lift off the ground and I'm off in the sky, that's all there is to it, along with a few other things like how I turn and how I go up. My engine is key to it all though. I wouldn't be able to fly without it."

"I've... never heard of anything like that. I mean, we have something like that back where I live but in order for it to work you have to pedal... Helicopter, that's what it was called."

Dusty gave an odd look. "Why would a helicopter need someone to pedal it for it to fly? Wouldn't it just be able to do it on its own?"

"No actually... I'm gonna assume helicopters are alive here like you are, where I come from, they aren't. Ponies use them for transport, hence why some pony would have to pedal for it to fly."

"I see... Do you have other machines? Like cars, trains, or forklifts like Dottie?"

"Forklifts and cars... I have no idea what those are. Trains however, I've ridden one more than I can count, it's one of the main ways to get around Equestria."

"And it's not alive either?"

Rainbow nodded her head. "A pony controls it by tending to the engine and such. Like I said, I've never seen anything like you back at home."

"Just like we've never seen anything like you... So, you said the name of your home is Equestria?"

"Yep, though actually I hail from a small town called Ponyville, I'm in charge of the weather."

Dusty cocked an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Yeah! Along with the other Pegasi, we regulate when it's supposed to rain, when it's supposed to be sunny, when it's time for Spring to come, all that fun stuff."

"Huh... Interesting."

"Do you have anything like that?"

Dusty shook his head. "No, it's whatever nature gives us."

"... We really are different... Though honestly this is reminding me a lot of how it is on Flysenhower, they don't control the weather either. What you see is what you get is what my friends and I were told."

"That's just how it always is no matter where you are, least here in this place it is, and all over the world."

I wonder if they got the idea from them... Rainbow thought.

It went on like this for quite awhile as Dusty and Rainbow exchanged questions and answers. It was stopped for a minute when they got Rainbow her food, but then continued after. They were both intrigued about the other's world. How it worked, what it was like, what were the creatures like that lived there. Every last detail. Eventually it turned into telling stories about adventures and friends, along with many other things.

"And then, with Twilight bringing us all together, we activated the Elements of Harmony and stopped Nightmare Moon, turning her back into her former self, Princess Luna." Rainbow said, raising her front hooves in the air.

"That sounds incredible." Dusty said with a grin.

"It was."

They were back at the hangar now. It had gotten dark out. They had spent so much time talking they hadn't realized how fast time had gone by.

"Your world sounds amazing Dash... Maybe I could see it sometime."

Rainbow chuckled. "Maybe you could, but let's not count on it, I don't even know how to get back yet."

Dusty gave a concerned look. "If I heard you correctly earlier, you were sent here, along with two other ponies, for training?"

"Yep, my trainers said this is the biggest test for the Jolly Wrenches, learn to navigate the world of the Metal Birds, and find your way home. They gave us a hint, though honestly I don't think it was helpful."

"What was the hint?"

"Go back to where you started. That doesn't make any sense at all, if I went back to where I started I would most likely get mauled by whatever that monster what I saw earlier with Thorn and Lightning Dust."

"I'm thinking you're talking about the harvester that lives around here. It doesn't like when tip one of its tractors, goes on a rampage if you do."

"Yeah, learned that the hard way."

Rainbow looked outside one of the windows. "All I know is I need to find Thorn and Lightning Dust as soon as possible... I just don't know how. We have no way of contacting each other from far off distances."

"Do you think they could have gone far?"

"I don't know... I hope they didn't leave without me..." They wouldn't... Right?

Dusty gave a sympathetic look, giving her a gentle nuzzle.

"Tell you what, I'll help you look for them tomorrow. Sound good?"

Rainbow smiled a little, yawning. "Sounds good."

Dusty smiled back. "Awesome."

Rainbow made her way over to her little bed, curling up a bit.

"Hey Dusty?"

"Yeah?"

She gave another yawn before speaking again.

"You think you could tell me about the Wings Around the Globe Rally? Been meaning to ask about that."

Dusty gave another smile. "Sure, right now, or later?"

"Just talk to me till I fall asleep..."

"Very well... It all started in Lincoln, Nebraska... It was the qualifying rounds for the Wings Around the Globe Rally. I was the last contestant for the try outs. I was nervous, very nervous."

Boy do I know that feeling. I was the same way during the Young Flyers Competition. Rainbow thought as she listened on.

"What didn't help was everyone around me except my friends were looking down on me for being what I was. 'A crop duster? Are you kidding me? That farmer is going to race?' Is what I heard from many in the crowds and the announcer as well."

They were mocking him for just being a crop duster?

"Why were they mocking you for that? You're a plane so why the mocking?"

"Crop dusters are built to dust crops, that's the gist of it... But I didn't want to just dust crops. I wanted to be more than that... It was my dream to prove that maybe just maybe... I could do more than what I was built for... and I got to and I haven't regretted it since. Others were shocked when they saw me on the runway and when it was announced that for the first time there was a crop duster in the race."

"And for the first time in history, we have an Earth Pony in the race this year."

That pony probably knows how he feels... Rainbow thought, thinking of the Wings Around Equestria back at home.

"You wanted to live your dream... and were willing to do anything to have it..."

"Yeah, I didn't care if all they saw was a crop duster. I just wanted to race."

Even if you weren't built for it... or born for it...

Rainbow smiled a little. I understand that pony now... Heh, Dusty and him would probably be good friends if they met.

"Shall I continue on?"

"Yes, please."

Dusty continued to tell his story, as the mare eventually drifted off. Dreaming of the race, of home.