Jet Wing

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

What was she to do? It would have been a simple matter, and yet she found it impossible to determine her next course of action.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

By all means, she was a mare of action—she lived for it, dynamic and vigorous in movement and thought.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

And yet now, she was confused, inert, and undecided as to what she was to do next.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The quiet, nearly mute ticking and tocking of the grandfather clock rang in her ears, and yet she paid it no need, pacing back and forth, back and forth, through the cool expanse. Her mind raced at a million miles a second, but every time, it reverted back to the same pictures in her mind. Speed, action, dynamos of flight whizzing past the cells of her brain. Red, pale and dark, and a grey color, faded with age.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

By Celestia, Rainbow Dash did not know what to do!

The rainbow-maned pegasus, frustrated and exasperated, let out a lengthy groan, gnawing her teeth and flipping backwards through the air as her hooves flew to her face. There she was, presently in her home in the sky, the cool chill of the great above seeping through the pulpous walls, cumulus and spongy to the touch. The large, expansive cloud house seemed only to exacerbate her current feelings of isolation and indecision, and the pegasus slowly fell to the floor, holding her hooves over her head.

She had wanted to find this Blackjack Gunner, the jet winger of yore. Rainbow Dash sought answers to her questions, and, though she did not admit it, she also desired to know what exactly the old stallion had meant by Rainbow Dash’s inability to compete.

Rainbow had searched far and wide, across Ponyville, from the dark limbs of the Everfree, to the rolling hills and orchards of her friend’s farm, to the river blue, its flowing waters crisp and clear. Yet, she could not find Blackjack Gunner, and few in town had seen him—fewer still mentioning noticing him after their encounter in Sugarcube Corner.

Just where, exactly, could he have disappeared to? He couldn’t have left Ponyville altogether, not yet? But doubt gnawed at her insides, frustration growing as she realized that soon, her sole potential ticket to the halls of the sport she held dear would float away in the wind, much like the streamers and confetti that Pinkie Pie oft fired from her cannon.

Wait…

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

That was it!

Yes, yes, yes, that was indeed a possible solution! Pinkie Pie, her friend Pinkie Pie, the party pony, friend to all in Ponyville—she would know where Blackjack Gunner had gunned off to, maybe! After all, she was friends with everypony in Ponyville, so, obviously, she would already be friends with Blackjack!

Nodding her head in triumph as a victorious smirk crept up her face, Rainbow Dash shot back into the air, her wings extending as she zoomed out of her floating house. Her eyes scanned and searched the ground below, her mind on the prowl and her soul on the hunt as she sought she who would bring Rainbow Dash to her quarry.

There!

On the ground, on a viridian-green hill, bouncing up and down, up and down, very much looking like a runaway ball that the colts and fillies would play with in the schoolyard. Her signature beam, of jollity and joviality, though admittedly somewhat unnerving, her eyes closed as she hummed a joyful tune. Letting out a gasp of affirmation, Rainbow Dash extended a hoof downwards, speeding to the ground in order to intercept the pink one.

“Pinkie Pie!” She shouted, attempting to garner her friend’s attention. The party pony stopped mid-bounce, falling to the ground as she snapped her gaze up at Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, hiya Rainbow Dash! Fancy seeing you here this afternoon!” Her smile brightened as she came face to face with her pegasus friend. “You want a donut?”

“Wha?” Rainbow gaped in confusion, tilting her head as she contemplated whether it was the best idea to deal with Pinkie Pie’s nonsensical unpredictability at this time. Her confusion grew by multiple factors as her friend procured a pair of donuts from out of nowhere, as if pulling them from some pocket dimension.

“Here! Donuts!” Pinkie Pie frowned slightly, staring down at the pastries. “Let’s see, we’ve got a cream-filled jelly donut, glazed with strawberry frosting, and, ooh, a chocolatey goody!” She raised the treats up to Rainbow Dash’s nose, and it took all of the cerulean-coated pegasus’ composure to resist biting into the soft texture of the donuts.

“No, no, no, Pinkie! Not now!” She shook her head, grabbing Pinkie Pie by the shoulders. “That doesn’t matter right now. What matters, is that I need to find a certain somepony stat. Can you tell me where he is?”

Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously, her head bobbling up and down as if it were a toy. “Yeppers peppers! Who do ya’ need?”

“Middle-aged pegasus stallion, has a red coat and a grey mane. Probably arrived to Ponyville not too long ago, his name is Blackjack Gunner. Do you know the guy?”

Upon hearing Blackjack’s description, Pinkie Pie notably deflated, a frown appearing on her face as her eyes fell. “Oh, him? What do you need him for? He’s a meanie peanie, that one.”

At Pinkie Pie’s statement, Rainbow Dash’s face grew angry, the makings of a snarl emerging from her mouth as concern for her friend grew in her eyes. “What? What do you mean? Has he hurt you, Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie Pie shuffled her hooves, looking away, as though the topic made her uncomfortable. “No, well, yes—actually, no, he hasn’t hurt me, no,” she muttered unsurely, but a pointed gaze from Rainbow Dash stopped her in her tracks. “Okay, well he hasn’t hurt me really, but he made me sad.”

“What did he do, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked, floating backwards to give her friend some breathing room.

“Well, I saw him leave Sugarcube Corner yesterday when you, Twilight, and Applejack were still in there. I knew he was new to Ponyville, so I stopped him, and talked to him,” Pinkie Pie explained, her frown growing. “But I don’t think he wanted to be my friend. He even said no to my party! My party, and you know, Rainbow Dash, how everypony loves my parties!”

Pinkie Pie grew more anxious by the second, bouncing back and forth as flashbacks of Pinkamena Diane Pie appeared in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “He just wanted to be left alone, but I followed him everywhere, you know, because everypony is my friend, but he didn’t want any of it!” She kicked her hooves at the ground, dirt flying up into the air. “Oh, he was worse than Cranky Doodle Donkey was! What do you need him for, Rainbow Dash?”

Though Rainbow Dash saw red—nopony hurt her friends!—she attempted to reel her anger in, looking into Pinkie Pie’s eyes. “Well, Pinkie, I just needed to find him, but now,I’ll make him be your friend!” She crossed her hooves, a devious smirk creeping onto her face. “You can count on me!”

Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie’s mane blew up, a smile whipping back onto her face within seconds. “Really?! You will?!”

“Yep! So, can you tell me where I can find him?”

Pinkie Pie bounced into the air, grabbing onto Rainbow Dash in a full-fledged bear-hug in a spurt of joy. “Oh, thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” Letting go of the rainbow-maned pegasus, Pinkie Pie fell back to the ground, beaming up at Rainbow Dash. “Blackjack’s usually hanging around the Everfree, closer to Applejack’s farm, but sometimes he’s in his room at the motel! Room twenty-seven!”

Rainbow nodded in affirmation, her grin growing despite her anger towards Blackjack Gunner. “Alright, thanks Pinkie! He’ll be your friend soon, I promise!” She made to leave, before a tug on her hoof stopped her.

“Pinkie Promise!” The party pony cried out, grinning sunnily at Rainbow. The pegasus let out a muffled groan, before proceeding.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Her hoof poked slightly at her eye, and Rainbow frowned before beginning to float away. “Alright, I’ll be back soon, Pinkie, and Blackjack Gunner will your friend!”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie’s voice faded away quickly as Rainbow Dash zoomed back into the sky, her hunt renewed as she first scanned the tree line of the Everfree forest.

Rainbow Dash gave a low, tired sigh as she flew towards the Ponyville Motel, its orange roof and sunbaked yellow bricks standing out amongst the rest of the town’s visage. Having spent the last hour searching the Everfree’s tree line to no avail, the pegasus had decided to try the latter portion of Pinkie Pie’s directions.

‘Room twenty-seven, room twenty-seven,’ Rainbow thought to herself, speeding faster towards the motel with a gentle flap of her wings. Silently counting the individual rooms, left to right, she focused on a particular door—the second floor of the three-story motel, stretching about halfway across the building. Nodding to herself, Rainbow set herself into a comfortable glide as she approached twenty-seventh room. Coming to a stop before the oak door, Rainbow raised a hoof to knock.

Bang-bang-bang. Rainbow’s hoof beat against the wooden entrance, a trio of knocks signaling her arrival. Standing back, Rainbow stared anxiously at the door. How would she approach the meeting? Sure, Blackjack had hurt Pinkie, but Twilight had spent many an hour admonishing the brash pegasus on the value of patience, and not beating the information out of every opponent she came across.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door slowly creaked open, revealing a dark, unlit interior. Before Rainbow, through the entrance, stood the dark-red pegasus, staring at Dash with curious, if not annoyed, eyes.

“Yes? What do you need?” He asked, a frown appearing on his face as recognition filled his eyes.

Rainbow hesitated for a few moments, mutely shuffling her hooves. ‘Oh, to hay with it!’ she decided, anger filling her face as she pointed a hoof at Blackjack Gunner.

“You! Why did you hurt my friend?” She shouted, slowly approaching Blackjack. The old pegasus raised an eyebrow, backing up slowly as Rainbow took flight and entered his home.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Blackjack asked in confusion. What exactly was this crazy mare talking about?

Rainbow shook her head in response, looking straight into Blackjack’s eyes. “You know what I’m talkin’ about, buster! You told my friend Pinkie Pie that you didn’t want to be her friend, and that you didn’t want a party!”

After a few moments of silence, Blackjack’s memory seemed to click, and his mouth formed a small ‘o’ in recollection. “Oh, yes, her,” he muttered, displeasure evident in his voice. “Some ponies just don’t recognize the value of peace and quiet.”

“That doesn’t mean you’ve gotta be mean about it, Blackjack!” Rainbow rebutted. “You didn’t have to make her sad.”

Blackjack merely shook his head in response, his hooves waving in dismissal. “I don’t think I was mean about it at all. I only politely requested that she leave me alone.” It was half of the truth, yes, but the infuriated mare in front of him did not need to know that. An old stallion needed his tranquility—even if he himself didn’t deserve it.

The mare seemed to buy his semi-fib, muttering a low “oh” as she fell back to the ground. The two ponies remained in silence for a few moments, neither knowing how to proceed.

“Then is there anything else you need, miss? I have things to do.” Blackjack asked a few seconds later, raising an eyebrow as he glanced pointedly at the door. Rainbow did not reply at first, her hooves shuffling on the floor again as anxiety crept in.

Shaking off her unease, Rainbow spoke once more. “Well, uh, yeah. There is.” Blackjack’s face prompted her to continue. “We met at Sugarcube Corner, and you told me there that you were a former jet winger. I just had some questions about that, too.”

Letting out a low groan, Blackjack rolled his eyes before answering. “Yes, I remember you. Rainbow Dash, yes? I distinctly remember telling you to never get mixed up in that entire Jet Wing business.” He pronounced the name of Dash’s beloved sport with a measure of disgust and finality, obviously holding some amount of distaste for it. “What makes you think I’ll help you in your stupidity?”

Though miffed by Blackjack’s insult, Rainbow chose not to retort to it, simply continuing. “I just had some questions,” she explained, playing with her hooves as she carefully chose her next words. “I got curious, right, ‘cause you were saying how ponies got hurt, and stuff.” She did not mention her particular interest in Blackjack, due to his status as a former competitor.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Blackjack finally responded, though with a question of his own.

“Tell me, Miss Dash, how much do you really love the sport?” Blackjack’s voice was muted and low, as if unsure of his own proceedings. Despite the investigative nature of the question, however, Rainbow reacted with gusto, her wings flaring in excitement as her face beheld her joy for the sport.

“Oh, man, I totally love Jet Wing! The races have got to be my favorite thing in the world, besides the Wonderbolts!” Mimicking her actions from the day before, the cerulean-coated pegasus re-enacted the racers with her hooves. “There aren’t really many other places you can get that same speed, agility, and raw power!”

Blackjack watched silently as the young pegasus mare to his front visibly showed her excitement, tracing small figure-eights with his eyes as he followed her flight. “And what makes you think you could ever actually compete in a Jet Wing Series, Rainbow Dash? Don’t you realize how hard that is?”

Rainbow nodded her head energetically, though a frown appeared on her face. “Of course I do! It’s just, I’ve always wanted to compete in a series since I was a filly—and I think I could totally compete! I’m fast, I’m agile—I’m the best flyer in all of Ponyville!” She proclaimed, raising beaming towards the roof as she held her chin up.

“But,” Blackjack responded. “You do realize that jet wingers are the best flyers in all of Equestria, yes? Besides the Wonderbolts?” Surely, the filly flying before him understood that she needed to be the cream of the crop to even consider competing in a Jet Wing series.

However, Rainbow had an answer, staring willfully at Blackjack with a smirk on her face. “Oh, yeah? Well, I attended the Wonderbolt Academy, and I graduated with flying colors!” She exclaimed, watching as Blackjack’s expression slowly changed. “I’m even a reserve for the Wonderbolts!”

Blackjack’s eyebrows rose, his mouth hanging open in subdued shock. He had certainly not expected that to be the case. Rainbow Dash, for her part, basked in Blackjack’s clear surprise, satisfied with one-upping the old stallion. After a few moments, Blackjack shook his head, clearing his mind of his stalled thoughts.

“Well, that—that changes things, I guess,” Blackjack mumbled, before continuing.  “But that doesn’t mean I could help you become a competitor, Miss Dash. I haven’t raced in a Series in a long time. You’d be on your own—you’ll need a sponsor with lots of money, you’ll need the equipment, the training, the team and crew to help you.” He stopped to look knowingly at Rainbow Dash. “Nevermind that you’d also need a partner—Jet Wing competitors are all required to compete in teams of at least two pegasi, with at least one active racer in each race. I don’t think there are any in this humble town of yours that share the same enthusiasm as you as to actually compete.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Blackjack in confusion, slightly tilting her head to the side. “What? Couldn’t you be my partner, though?” She asked unsurely. "That is, if I ever did find a way to compete."

In response, Blackjack let out an amused chortle. “Miss Dash, do you realize how old I am? I can’t possibly compete in a Jet Wing Series.”

“What?” Rainbow asked in bemusement. “You don’t look that old. How old are you?”

“Well, first of all, how old are you, Rainbow Dash?” Blackjack fired back.

Rainbow frowned at the returned question, answering slowly. “Uh, I’m twenty-four. Why?”

Blackjack chuckled once more, shaking his head as if enjoying some inside joke. “I’m old enough to be your father, Miss Dash. I’m fifty-five, myself.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash cried out, shock filling her face. “But—but—I remember watching you, and Manehattan K1, racing all over Equestria! You weren’t that old back then, that can’t have been that long ago!”

The old stallion gave a despondent grin, amused by Rainbow Dash's astonishment. “Tell me, Miss Dash—how old is a typical Jet Wing team’s captain?”

“Uh, in their mid-thirties? I don’t know, something like that? They have to be experienced enough to lead, after all.”

“And how long ago did Manehattan K1 actually race? Do you remember how old you were back then?”

Rainbow shook her head as she fell into thought, struggling to remember. “I think I was, uh, five? Or six?”

“I was thirty-seven when I was K1’s captain. Our prime was eighteen years ago, Miss Dash. Besides, I couldn’t ever race in one of those Series’ again, even if I wanted to. My body, my wings—they wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Blackjack said, with a measure of finality.

Rainbow Dash, though immensely surprised, shook her head to rid herself of her shock. “Well, that doesn’t matter. I can still race in one of those series—I will! I just… I just…” She trailed off, her head starting to hang as she became discouraged. No, she couldn't race in a Jet Wing Series. Not now, and not ever. After all, who was she but a simple pegasus from Cloudsdale, living in a small, unnoticeable town in the middle of Equestria? She wasn't even a Wonderbolt, not yet, and even if she did manage to secure the money necessary to even start a team, she would be stuck--who else in Ponyville held the same enthusiasm as she did for the sport?

Blackjack gazed at her silently, his eyes filled with regret, as well as a hint of longing, as he watched the mare turn around to leave. As Rainbow Dash spread her wings, about to take off, the stallion decided upon a course of action--a risk, a bid, unsure as he was.

“Wait, Miss Dash. One moment, if you will…” Blackjack called out to the departing pegasus, a hoof splayed out towards her. “I have... an offer, for you."

Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks, turning around slowly with a frown upon her face. “Yeah? What is it?”

Blackjack did not speak for several moments, merely staring into Dash’s eyes as they pulled at something within him. A certain wistful feeling reached out, as if Dash’s mere presence brought back the rush, the excitement, and the pure joy that remained bottled deep within the old stallion.

“If you can find a sponsor, and the money, to start a Jet Wing team, come back to me,” Blackjack slowly uttered, himself unsure where he was headed with his offer. “I guess I can be your… coach and trainer, I think. I’ve kept up with the sport all these years, so I think I can be of at least some aid.”

Rainbow hesitated, her expression slowly shifting as she digested the new information. After a few moments, however, a smirk crawled up her face, and her eyes narrowed. “Deal. But I’ve got a condition."

Blackjack raised an eyebrow, uncertain of Rainbow’s intentions. “Yes? What do you want, then?”

“If I find a sponsor, and we manage to get a team up and running, then you, Blackjack Gunner, will have to apologize to my friend Pinkie Pie. And you’ll need to accept her own offer of a party. Deal?”

Blackjack gaped in slight surprise, staring blankly at Rainbow Dash for a second or two before he replied. “I accept. Now, be off on your way, Miss Dash. I have things to do, like I said.”

Rainbow Dash nodded back towards Blackjack, her smile devious as she turned around, spreading her wings as she jumped out of the small motel room. A flap of her wings sent the door slamming shut, and Blackjack Gunner was left behind in the dark room, his eyes wide as he contemplated what had just happened.

“That filly… she does seem to bring the youth out of me again.” Blackjack Gunner turned around, laying back on a small bed as a smile crept up his face, thoughts of years past, of excitingly fast races and break-neck turns, filling his mind as he reminisced on his early adulthood.