The Storm

PRT PRT PRT PRT PRT PRT PRT… VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The familiar and re-assuring steady drone of the Napier Sabre IIB engine was a surprise to John’s ears. He picked up his pace and saw, much to his horror that the three ponies, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle that he had met previously had somehow managed to get into the cockpit and start up the engine! The three fillies, John remembered Twilight calling them, simultaneously exclaimed “Cutie Mark Crusaders Metal Bird Flyers!”

“What’s this do?” he heard Sweetie Bell squeak inquisitively.

He saw her tiny hoof reach for the trigger.

“OH SHI...!” said John.

Without any warning, the four 20mm MK II Hispano Cannons suddenly discharged, gunfire cracking loudly through the air.

John leaped away as clods of dirt were blown loose and nearby stack of barrels were completely demolished. Cider, wood, and steel chunk pieces rocketed everywhere like shrapnel, and John was relieved none of them went towards the plane. He then prayed to god that they didn’t arm any rockets. He then decided to what any RAF pilot would do: run up to a moving plane that was armed and very dangerous, climb up on the wing and into the cockpit and seize control of the aircraft! Feeling like a real bloody idiot, John ran over to the craft and grabbed onto the safe to step portion of the wing with his hands. Suddenly, the aircraft gained even more speed. He was now holding on for dear life as the plane rapidly accelerated to takeoff speeds. Miraculously, he managed to haul himself onto the wing and climb in to the cockpit, which was now very crowded and cramped. However, John was too late; the plane had gone airborne and was on a collision course to the barn at Sweet Apple Acres (as he’d learned it was called). The three fillies screamed and partly-deaf John who was also screaming, managed to fly the plane through the barn! This resulted in scaring the living daylights out of the one red pony he’d seen earlier, who was just outside. John quickly ascended and shut the canopy so he or the ponies wouldn’t fall out. He didn’t even know how they all fit in the cockpit, but he really didn’t care, he was too amazed. He had just flown through a bloody barn!

“Hey, lemme help!” said Sweetie Bell, grabbing the joystick.

“NO!” said John as Sweetie Belle somehow managed to get control of the joystick. The plane somehow did a series of amazing aerobatic maneuvers (Loop de loops, barrel rolls, aileron rolls etc.) as John and Sweetie Belle fought for control of the joystick in a slapstick fashion, each one attempting to block our outdo other. At one point, the plane leveled out and buzzed the Ponyville market. Scootaloo, while trying to assist Sweetie Belle in grabbing the joystick, accidentally tapped the trigger. Multiple stalls were instantly destroyed, and a large blue pegasus stone statue lost its head to the four 20mm Mark II Hispano cannons, which seemed more like a disturbing omen to John. Ponies screamed and dove for cover as the fighter soared over shocked and scared shoppers and stalls were blown over. Some ponies looked and pointed as the plane barely a three feet from their heads while others stood still, paralyzed by mixture of fear and awe. One pony even took a picture with his camera. After pulling out of the market and putting on another airshow, John finally regained control and immediately put it down in the street (which was conveniently long enough and wide enough to serve as a runway), where it rolled to stop next to Twilight’s library.

An amazed Twilight rushed out, and looked at the plane parked next to the library with her already large eyes reaching ludicrous proportions.

“Good GOD! Are those eyes?!?!” thought John, his brain temporarily distracted by Twilight’s ridiculously proportioned peepers. Normally, he would’ve laughed until his lungs were devoid of oxygen, but he was too furious to do so at the moment.

First to come out where three very guilty looking fillies, and then came John. His face was a mix of livid, scared, surprised, accusing and rage. He was shaking with anger and the corner of his mouth was twitching.

“Uh oh…” said the three fillies at the same time, slowly trying to back away. Of course, in a few minutes after they came out of the plane, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were there (after receiving letters from Twilight), and they were very unhappy, to say the least.

Twilight, judging from the look on John’s face, prepared for a verbal bombardment.

“YOU THREE, WAIT RIGHT HERE, NOW!” yelled John, pointing to a spot just outside Twilight’s library. “MOVE IT, OFFICERS!”

The three fillies winced at John’s words (and so did their parents), but they followed the instructions as told.

The the five went inside and John unleashed the verbal equivalent of 10 volleys of RP-3 rockets and 20mm Hispano cannons, as well as dollop of profanities mixed in. He ranted and raved about how why the h*** the bloody fillies’ parents let them get into these kinds of really dangerous situations and why the h*** they didn’t try to stop them or take precautionary measures. He also talked about how the plane’s weapons were very dangerous and designed to kill, which he actually found somewhat disturbing for the first time. His rant went on for 20 minutes until he finally ran out of breath.

Rarity nearly punched John about his way of speaking about her and Applejack almost kicked him. Rainbow also didn’t appreciate his labeling, either. However, the two mothers and guardian were more upset with their children. And they also did think about John’s advice, albeit profanity-filled.

After another five minutes, John finally had cooled down and let out a deep breath while sitting down on a comfortable green couch. “I have a question… just HOW bloody often do those three get into situations like that?” He asked, eyeing the three ponies with a gaze that could pierce tank armor.

Silence. Rarity suddenly found the floor quite diverting and Applejack said nothing, but kept eye-contact with John. Rainbow, hovering pointlessly, searched the room for… something other than John.

“Right,” said John, guessing the answer was ‘all the time’. “I apologize to you all for my rant; no good gentleman swears in front of a lady. However, the plane is to be forever more off-limits to those three, no exceptions! I don’t know what to say about damages made to the town… a statue and some stalls were destroyed… but, I want them to know it wasn’t my fault and that I will not be held liable. Had I not managed to get in there, there probably would’ve been more damage than there is. Someone could’ve been seriously injured or even killed! I know that maybe parking it next to an inhabited village wasn’t the brightest idea either, but I still find their actions inexcusable! Did they even have any kind of permission, regardless of me knowing or not, to look at or be near the plane?”

“Well, Sweetie Belle I know certainly didn’t. I didn’t tell she could or couldn’t go and see either… so…” said Rarity. She felt quite guilty; she’d heard the part about the plane’s weapons and she was quite relieved that no one was hurt or killed. But Rarity also knew that things could’ve gotten much worse.

“And ah CERTAINLY didn’t give Applebloom any kinda permission to be ‘round your Hawker Typhoon,” said Applejack. She, also felt a bit guilty, but, she also knew her main problem was Applebloom and what happened to her after she was done conferring with John.

“And nobody ever told Scootaloo she could see the… whatever it was,” said Rainbow Dash, finally returning her gaze to John.

Things quieted down again and, after some time had passed, John turned to Rarity and said, “You’re a tailor, correct?”

“Tailor? Yes, I am a tailor and fashion designer, darling,” said Rarity, turning to John. She ( and the other two ponies) were a bit confused at the sudden change of tone in the conversation, but she ignored it and listened.

“I… don’t quite know how to put this, after raving and being angry and all, but…” but John was cut off.

“You need some clothes other than your uniform. Of course! I can put some things together,” said Rarity. Although she didn’t quite know John’s clothing status, but she figured he was wearing the only clothes he had. She was also glad that John wasn’t holding anything against her.

“Good, can you do it in a few hours?” John said. “I’ll stop by later to run over another uniform, since I’m stuck here I might as well have something formal.”

“Well, of course! I can have quite the wardrobe done in about five hours’ time!” said Rarity. She actually felt better being asked to tailor something… but she’d get to work on that after she’d talked to Sweetie Belle.

John noted how Rarity looked excited at the prospect of making some clothes, and he didn’t mind. Then, another thing hit him. “How much would it be?” asked John, cringing nervously. He didn’t have his wallet with him; it was back at Needs Oar Point.

“John, is something wrong?” asked Twilight.

“Well… usually, I have money…  However, I didn't bring my wallet... and… I’m flat broke!” said John.

“Free of charge,” said Rarity. “Small token to the only human in Equestria. I'd have done that same even if you had money, dear.”

“Uhm… thanks miss, that’s very kind of you!” said John, relieved. He then turned to Rarity and whispered, “Can you make me a uniform? It would be somthing for formal occasions. I’ll describe it to you.”

After John had done that, Rarity nodded and said, “Okay, got it! I’ll get everything done shortly!” She then left John and the others and headed back for her shop, thinking about what size John was. and making measurements in her head.

“Alright, I’ll be getting my… things… around. Oh, wait, I don’t have anything to put them in, if I even hand anything to get around.” Suddenly, a small cloth bag tied together with some thick string floated into John’s lap, surrounded by Twilight’s purple magical aura. ”How’s that supposed too help?” he said.   He picked it up and shook it, and the sound of coins clinking against each other could be heard. He opened the bag and drew out a solid gold coin, about the size of an American 50-cent piece. On the front was a stamped image of who John assumed was Princess Celestia (his cue was the sun on her flank, as well as her tiara) and on the back was Princess Luna (again, the cue was the moon on her flank and her tiara). “Wait... are these... 24 karat?!“ said John. He bit into one as hard as he could and when he stopped biting, a small indent was left in the coin.  Just one of the coins he had was wroth several pounds, at least. And to think he had 150 of them! He could be rich when he got back, if he held onto a good portion of his coins.

“Yep, purest there is. There are 150 bits in there, enough to cover anything you might need to get,” said Twilight.

“What are these?” John suddenly asked. He pointed to the moon on Luna’s flank.

“Oh…  I should’ve told you about those sooner. That’s a Cutie Mark, something a pony gets when they discover their life purpose,” explained Twilight.

“So, when I was a pegasus, there was a tattoo of my plane or an RAF brevet or something on my ass?” said John.

“Ah…” said Applejack. “What’s a tah-too?”

“It’s basically an image carved into a certain part of someone’s body, commonly on their arm, with a needle filled with ink. It’s kind of like a Cutie Mark, only it hurts… because it’s being literally carved into your skin,” said John. “And from what I gather, Cutie Marks just appear in a poof of magic or something... right?”

“Yeah, that’s basically it,” said Applejack. She shuddered a bit at the mental image.

“Anyways, I’m going to go shopping for some necessities and get some dinner,” said John. He left the three ponies to go do his errands before the train arrived.

Outside, the Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo quaked with fear as John passed by. They trembled even harder when John backtracked to them and stood still, towering over them menacingly with a hard, uncaring, frowning face. Suddenly it lighted and he bent down.

“Come here,” said John softly, trying to sound as nice and kind as possible. He made a ‘come closer’ gesture with his hand, and the three fillies rather hesitantly obliged. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you earlier, I was angry and it wasn’t fair. That still doesn’t excuse your actions, but… I forgive you. There will be consequences for sure, but, know that I won’t hold It against you. Well, maybe a little… No, I’m just kidding, but don’t ever do anything like that AGAIN. It might help with keeping out of trouble. Just my free words of advice.” The three fillies nodded, amazed and somewhat un-surprised at what John had said. John patted all three on the head, scratched them behind the ears, and then finally went off to do his shopping.