The Brothers Don't

Flash Sentry gulped. "Right, I just gotta ask one more time before, uh..."

"Takeoff," said one of the unicorn pilots.

"Right, before takeoff." Flash wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "You definitely know what you're doing, right? I mean, you understand how the whole things works?" His eyes bulged. "The whole. Thing."

"Relax, Sentry," Spitfire said, punching him in the side. "You've got wings. Even if it falls apart in the air, you'll be absolutely fine."

"But what if it starts to crash and I can't get out?" Flash asked, breathing hard.

"There's an emergency lever on the bottom level," the second pilot said, straight faced. "If for whatever reason we lose control of the crash, you can pull the lever and open the hatch at any time."

"It's all pulleys and gears down there, no magic," said the first pilot. "The hatch will open manually no matter what else is happening."

"All right... all right, that's great..." Flash's heartbeat slowed as he relaxed, nodding slowly.

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Right, then. Let's go."

The pilots took their positions in seats at the front curved windshield. Their horns glowed brightly and they began to twist knobs and push buttons in front of them, talking gibberish to each other between phrases like "system checks" and "emergency light".

Flash shuddered and turned to his captain. "You're sure about this, Shining? I mean, this thing was built in a week."

"Unicorns have done greater things in less time," Shining said.

"We are go!" one of the pilots shouted.

The craft lurched forward and quickly gained speed. The engines were roaring, the whine of machinery rising in pitch. Shining and Macintosh widened their stances. Spitfire crouched to lower her center of gravity. Flash laid on the ground and covered his eyes, whimpering.

Suddenly, the craft wobbled and its noise reduced by half. Everypony's stomachs dropped.

"Lift off," said one of the pilots.

Spitfire rushed to one of the small, round windows built into the walls of the craft. She watched the Crystal Empire shrink behind them. "Wow..." she said. "We're going really fast."

"That's the idea." Shining Armor joined her. His eyes widened with the scope of the horizon.

"You've never seen the world like this, have you, Captain?" asked Spitfire.

Shining shook his head. "Never. It's amazing."

"Guys, come get a look at this!" Spitfire yelled over her shoulder.

Macintosh ran to join them with a huge grin on his face. His eyes devoured the scenery below.

Shining Armor smirked. "You like flying, Macintosh?" he asked.

"Eeyup!" Macintosh beamed, unable to look away from the diminishing mountains below.

"Flash!" Spitfire shouted.

"I-I've seen it enough, thanks," the stallion stuttered. He hadn't moved, chest glued to the floor. "I think I'll j-just stay here until we've landed."

"Which will be when, exactly?" Spitfire asked, looking at Shining.

He frowned. "I'm not sure. We'll get as far north as we possibly can."

"What if we pass whatever it is we're looking for?" Spitfire asked.

Shining looked out the window. "I guess we'll just have to keep watch." He smiled at the glee in Macintosh's face. "Shouldn't be too hard a task."