Chaos in Equestria Book One: It was almost a good idea...by SupahsnailChaptersThe Famous, Flying MachineThe Perfect PlanThe Calm BeforeDesperate TimesThe Worst that Could HappenShowdownPublic FrontLast ResortDamsel in DistressThe Famous, Flying Machine Flim and Flam had never worked so hard on anything but a sales pitch. The thing they had worked so hard on for months had brought them nothing but bruised hoofs and sweat drenched fur; but today, it would make them rich. They were in a large shed that they had rented with the last of their apple cider sales. The machine hunkered over them, nearly filling the entire shed. It wasn't the best looking machine. It was only what it needed to be to work properly. Flim crawled out from under one of its three wheels, "Gilda," he called, "Would you be so kind as to bring me a rag?" Gilda the griffin was leaning against the far wall of the shack, inspecting her claws. She easily could have been helping Flim and Flam on their project, but, that wasn't what she was being paid for. She was paid thirteen bitts a day to act as bodyguard. Bodyguard! What a waste of time! No one had even gone so far as to touch them. The pay was reasonable, but it was obvious that they couldn't afford her much longer. "Gilda!" Flim called again. "Yeah, yeah, stop complaining ya baby," Gilda responded. She picked up a rag that had been conveniently placed at her feet and hurled it at Flim. It landed perfectly on his face. Flam called out from the front of the shack, "Flim, Gilda, come look!" Flim immediately ran toward Flam’s voice, doing so caused the rag that had been resting on his nose to plop to the ground. Gilda slowly moped over, having no intentions of showing any kind of excitement or interest. "What now?" she said. Flim walked to Flam's right side, Gilda stood to his left. Flam pointed at the machine, "Check out the view ol' brother of mine." Flim spoke to himself, "I don't see why I have to come over here. I could see it just fine from the..." He looked toward the machine, "...oh my." It was cigar shaped, aside from two sets of wings on its sides and a propeller in the front . It had two seats in the front, and one in the back. Its polished wooden frame gleamed in the sunlight (which was shining through a hole in the roof). "A much better view," Flam stated. Flim's eyes opened wide, like a child on his birthday, "It's... it's..." "Lame," Gilda interrupted. "Oh, but Gilda, of course a Griffin won't care," said Flam. "Nor would anything that can fly in the air," added Flim. He started to move to the sound of a nonexistent drum beat. Gilda cringed, "Please don't sing!" "Too late," they said, "This will be our... world famous, flying machine! It'll make us richer than anything! Oh, because everypony will know... that it'll take you where you need to go! The age of pegasus drawn carriages is over, a thing of the past. We all knew it wouldn't last. Oh, it's the age of our world famous, flying ma..." Gilda grabbed them both by the necks, "Shut up! I can't put up with your awful singing!" She took a deep breath, "Now, I'm gonna let go of your necks. Do you PROMISE not to sing?" They nodded their heads. Gilda released them and they fell to the ground. "Sorry," Flim said insincerely, "Anyway, there's just one thing we need to make our flying machine work..." "...a unicorn!" Flam finished. "Oh, so those horns on your heads are just for decoration?" Gilda teased. "No, we can't do it," Flim replied, "We need a much more powerful unicorn than us to sit in the back and power the machine!" "Besides," Flam added, "We need to sit in the front and pilot the machine." Flim put a hoof on his chin, "Where will we find a pony like that?" "You dweebs don't get out much, do you? What about just hiring the Great and Powerful Trixie? Haven't you heard people talk about her?" Gilda suggested. "Who?" "Some unicorn, she's putting on a magic show in Trottingham. She says she's the best. That's what I've heard at least," Gilda answered. "Trottingham? That's too far away," Flam complained. "...It's a five minute walk..." "Oh, well then, let's go." Flam opened the shack door. "After you, Gilda." Gilda didn't budge. "I'm not paid to help you pick up mares." Flim blushed. "We are not 'picking her up', we are hiring her." Gilda chuckled, "Sure you're not." Flam grabbed his hat and put it on. "You will come," he said, "or you won't be paid." Gilda sat up. "You know what? I think I was planning on going into town anyway." The Perfect Plan The Great and Powerful Trixie preformed her amazing feats of wonder to a less than attentive crowd. Out of all the towns she had been to, Trottingham had the all-time worst crowd. Only five ponies were in the audience, and two of them were asleep. What a show she thought to herself. She made lights appear and explode. She made flowers turn to life and dance. She could do more than that; she had become more powerful ever since Twilight had humiliated her. Although she could do more, the small audience didn't deserve to see her greatness. But they would all see some day. She finished her act with small a fireworks show that shot from her hoofs, and took a bow. She didn't expect much applause, but to her pleasant surprise two audience members started to cheer. They were both unicorns, and they looked very similar to each other, only one of them had a rather large handlebar mustache. However, a much less pleased pegasus from the audience began to heckle her, "Boo, that was totally fake! You can't do magic! I bet you're not even a unicorn!" Trixie began to cry and dashed off the stage. Flim and Flam had been in the audience during the entire show. They watched Trixie run to her trailer in shame. "Boo, you still can't do magic!" The heckler continued. Flam had had enough, "Gilda, show this man some manners, would you?" Gilda woke up from her nap on a park bench, "Huh, oh yeah, sure." Flim and Flam walked to Trixie's trailer, ignoring the sounds of Gilda's manner lesson. They approached the dainty, wooden structure and knocked on the door. After getting no response, they knocked again. This time, the door flung open. Trixie stood in the entrance, covered in tears and red with rage. "Who dares disturb the Great and Powerful Trixie!?" she yelled. Flim and Flam removed their hats in gentlemen-like respect. "Allow me to introduce myself," Flim requested, "I'm Flim, and this man here is my brother Flam. We couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be... er... holding back on your magical talent. Now, if you're not so attached to this town, we may be able to give you an offer." Trixie wasn't convinced, "What does it pay?" Flam grinned, "Are you into unimaginable fame, Trixie?" Trixie finally gave them her full attention, "I can imagine a lot." "Oh but we can imagine more, and we can offer more," Flim promised. Trixie thought hard for a good ten seconds, "I'll see what your offer is. Then I'll make my choice." Flim stepped out of the doorway, "Just follow us, miss. See for yourself." Flim and Flam led Trixie to the old shack where they built there machine. The flying machine almost didn't fit outside of the shacks doors as it was slowly towed out by the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. As soon as it was completely in view Flim grinded the machine to a halt. Flim and Flam hopped off the Cider Squeezy, "Well, what do you think ma'am?" Flam asked. Trixie was sitting beside the shack, next to Gilda. She was no longer wearing her magician robes. "What in Equestria is that thing?" she said. Her tone was not flattering. Flim and Flam opened their mouths to sing, but stopped when they looked at Gilda. "It's a flying machine, my dear, the first ever." Flim answered. "Okay, and it's very pretty," Trixie said, "I know you wouldn't dare waste the Great and Powerful Trixie's time. So tell me what you need me for." Flam cleared his throat, "Well, you see ma'am. We will be presenting this machine in Canterlot two days from now." "The word is already out, we got a chance to show the machine as the opening act for a wonderbolt show! Everypony who's anypony will be there, including the princess herself!" Flim added. "Yes, and we need one last thing before this machine can become famous. We need a powerful unicorn!" "Well, look no further!" Trixie boasted, "I am powerful!" "Exactly," Flam agreed, "We need somepony with your talents! do you think you could sit in that back seat and use your amazing magic to power the engine?" "Maybe..." Flim jumped to her side, "Did I mention unimaginable fame?" Trixie smiled and jumped onto the machine, "Oh, I almost forgot! Unimaginable fame, people watching me, adoring me! Oh, they will come from miles around just to chant my beautiful name: The Great and Powerful Trixie! Now, what do I do?" Flim and Flam exchanged smiles, "Well first of all, you're in the pilot's seat," Flam pointed at the back seat, "That's were you go." "...Oh..." Trixie corrected herself by hopping to the back seat, "Now what?" "Now," Flam instructed, "you need to use your magic to power the engine. Just get it to heat up!" Trixie looked down. The engine was right at her front hoofs in a compartment below the seat, "Okay," she said nervously, "here it goes." She took a deep breath and concentrated all her energy into the engine. Her horn started to glow bright blue. The engine made a few gurgling noises, and the propeller started to spin very slowly. This lasted about five seconds before Trixie stopped and fell down in her seat from exhaustion. Flim shook his head, "Well brother of mine, it looks like this will never happen, looks like we're ruined." Trixie jumped in front of them, "WAIT!" she screamed, "I can't do it, but I know how to make it work!" Gilda pushed Trixie to the ground, "Buzz off, you had your chance." "But, I'm not going to be the one to do it!" Flim replied confused, "What do you mean?" "Twilight Sparkle," Trixie proposed plainly. "From Ponyville?" Gilda asked, "We don't have a good track record with that town..." Trixie smiled, "Nor do I. So, we force her to help us! And while she powers the machine, I'll stand above her and my adoring fans will be none the wiser!" Flim looked to her curiously, "How?" "Come in closer, I'll tell you. I hope you don't mind getting your hoofs dirty." The Calm Before At Froggy-Bottom Bog, Pinkie Pie bounced alongside Rainbow Dash in child-like excitement. Just about that time, Rainbow Dash was in the process of going over the choices she had made in life that got her in this terrible predicament. Even the frogs didn't seem to be enjoying themselves that unpleasant afternoon. While still bouncing, Pinkie started to rant, "This is so super duper fun! Lets see, Zacora's list says that all we need now is: three moss rocks, two blue toadstools, and some..." Pinky stopped reading and looked up. "Oh Pinkie, what is it now?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyed. She was tired of putting up with Pinkie Pie's crazy antics. "I don't know. My tail's all twitchy!" Pinkie said. Her tail was standing upright and vibrating rapidly. "Oh no..." an apple suddenly fell on Rainbow Dash's head. "Aww!" she yelped, "Hey, there aren't any apple trees in Froggy-Bottom Bog! Who threw that?" A voice from the trees answered, "Well, I had to get your attention somehow, Dash." Rainbow Dash grew a look of surprise, "I know that voice! Gilda!?" Gilda soared from the trees and landed in front of the two ponies, "The one and only." She spread her wings and puffed out her chest. Pinkie jumped in shock, "Gilda, what are you... why are you... when did you..." Gilda forced a smile, "Hold that almost coherent thought! I just wanted to come here to... make up for what I did. You know, apologize." The words rolled from her tongue in a painful, forced way. They were as unnatural as the fake smile on her face. Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced that Gilda was sincere, "So you're sorry for flipping out at the party?" "Yes" "And making Fluttershy cry?" Pinkie added. Gilda slowly became annoyed from the painful process of pretending she cared. She forced a fake look of shame, "Yes, yes, yes, all that stuff. and I know how to make it up to ya." She grinned and put one wing on each of the ponies, while guiding them away from the bog. "But, what about the others?" Rainbow Dash asked. Gilda giggled, "They'll show up. All your little friends will be there soon." Pinkie Pie clapped her forehoofs together happily. "Do you mean like a party? I love parties!" Gilda guided them along further. "Oh yeah," she said, "It's going to be one, big party." She grinned slightly. Pinkie looked around and realized she had no idea where they were going. "Where are you taking us?" she asked. "Somewhere cool, really cool." Gilda led them out of Froggy-Bottom Bog, and into what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Gilda eventually took them somewhere not far from town where an abandoned cider warehouse seemed to be the only landmark. They walked to the front door. The wooden steps creaked and moaned as they stepped over them. At that point, Rainbow Dash realized that something was wrong, where as Pinkie still had an innocent smile on her face. "What's going on? Gilda please tell me." Rainbow Dash pleaded. The front door was opened by Flim who stood in the entrance next to Flam. They smiled. Rainbow Dash started to struggle, but Gilda's grip tightened. "What are you doing, Gilda?" Gilda grabbed Pinkie and Rainbow Dash by the necks. "Don't worry, Dash!" she said as she threw them into the warehouse, "I got it all under control." Desperate Times Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were tied to two back to back chairs. Despite her best efforts. Rainbow Dash couldn't manage to free her wings. She had been struggling for a few minutes, making no progress. Gilda had been watching them both ever since she first tied them to the chairs. Gilda laughed at her struggling, "Give it a rest, Dash. You couldn't wrestle your way out if the rope was made of yarn!" She laughed, pleasing herself with her joke. Pinkie tried to look over her shoulder, but couldn't make eye contact with Gilda. "Gilda! Why are you doing this?" she cried, "I thought you said you were sorry!" "What for?" Gilda slapped Pinkie across the face with her sharp claws, "I don't regret a thing." Rainbow Dash grunted, and struggled even more. She became angrier than she had ever been and yelled, "Gilda! What the hay is wrong with you? After what you already did, you come back and do this! You ponynaped us! You hit Pinkie Pie! You made Fluttershy cry, that takes a new kind of low! You used to be nice! When did you change? Why did you change?" "You're the one who changed, Dash. You left me to go to Ponyville and hang out with these... losers. You lost your cool, Dash. To think, you used to be worth my time." "Oh, I'm so glad you're having fun together!" said the sarcastic voice of Trixie as she walked in. Flim and Flam followed her happily. Rainbow Dash stared in disbelief, "Trixie? Flim and Flam? Is every jerk in equestria in on this?" Trixie placed a hoof on her heart, "Oh Dash, you hurt my feelings. I just need to ask for help from that Twilight friend of yours." Pinkie said innocently, "Well, why don't you ask her? You didn't have to tie us up!" Trixie laughed in amusement, "But, I did! I need her magic without all of her annoying free will getting in the way." Gilda looked down at her wing to see Snips and Snails tugging on her feathers. "Wow! See Snails, I told you! It's a real griffon!" Snips said excitedly. Gilda tugged her wing back. "I honestly did not see that coming," she said. She Glared at the two colts and they slowly backed away. Snips backed into a crate that was labeled 'FRAGILE'. Snails eventually stopped and cowered next to Snips. Trixie gasped, "You two, again! What are you doing here?" "We live here," Snails said. Trixie yelled in impatience, "Just, get out of here! I can't have you ruining this like last time!" Snips and Snails bowed. "Okay Trixie, we'll just um..." Snips said. He looked over Trixie’s tail and saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, "Hi girls, why are you all tied up?" Pinkie called them, "Snips, Snails, go get help!" Snips and Snails slowly backed away. Trixie made no effort to stop them. "Go," she said, "get help." Snips and Snails exchanged glances and bolted through the front doors. Flim and Flam both bore looks of confusion. "You're just going to let them get away?" Flim inquired. Gilda Sighed, "You dweebs didn't listen to the plan did you?" Trixie rubbed her hoofs together, "Don't you worry," she said, "by tomorrow, Twilight will be ours. And you, my friends, will be rich!" Trixie clapped her hoofs together and laughed. Snips and Snails were running as fast as they could toward Fluttershy's cottage. When Snips looked back at the warehouse, he saw that the door was still open. Trixie was standing at the entrance. She was watching them. The two colts passed a few trees and the warehouse was out of sight. Fluttershy was outside of her cottage. It was late, but Fluttershy couldn't resist a chance to see all of Equestria's beautiful lightning bugs. She giggled as one landed on her nose. The lightning bugs disbanded to the sound of two approaching colts. Fluttershy looked around to see what scared the bugs, "Rainbow Dash... Pinkie? I-is that you?" She saw the forms of two ponies running toward her in the moonlight. She gasped and jumped into a nearby bush. Snips and Snails dashed into her view; they stopped to catch their breath. "Fluttershy," Snips called out, "Your friends need your help! You gotta listen!" He looked around, "Fluttershy, where are you?" He walked over to the bush and saw her tail on the ground. "Fluttershy, your friends need your help! So stop foolin' around and save 'em, eh." Fluttershy poked her head out of the bush. "Oh, um... I'm sorry," she said, "I just... wait, what did you say?" Snips pulled her out of the bush by her tail. "Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are in trouble! They like, totally need your 'elp!" Snails cried. "Oh my," Fluttershy gasped, "I need to go tell Twilight! Tell me the details on the way. I mean, if that's okay." She turned and ran toward Twilight's house. Snips turned to Snails, "Have I ever told you I hate running?" Snails nodded his head. Twilight sat on her bed reading a very good book. She had a limited edition copy of the first Moonlight book, a series of books about a sparkly pony vampire that falls in love with a unicorn. Times like that were what made her week, peace, quiet, and a good book. She was not going to get that pleasure this night. After a short time of peace, she heard the loud sound of her front door being bucked open. "Um... Snails, I don't think that was necessary," Fluttershy's voice said. Twilight jumped off her bed. Fluttershy, Snips, and Snails ran up her stairs. "Fluttershy! What are you doing?" Twilight said, "You almost woke up Spike. Snails looked at Spike. He was still asleep. "Sorry about your door miss Twilight," Snails said as he Turned to Twilight." "My door?" Snails blushed, "Nothing." Snips interrupted, "Twilight! we need to tell you something! Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are in trouble!" After taking a few deep breaths, Snips and Snails told Twilight everything they had seen that night. Twilight put a hoof on her chin in thought. "Well, that was a shocking story! I think I know how we can get them back," she said, "Fluttershy, go get Angel. Snips, Snails... just... just go home; you've helped enough already." Snips frowned, "Oh, okay. Come on, Snails." He walked away, followed by Snails. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, "Okay, get Angel. We need to save our friends!" "Why do we need angel?" "I'll explain on the way, lets go!" They both dashed down the stairs. Before leaving her house, Twilight stopped to address Owlowlicious, "Hold the fort while I'm gone, okay?" The owl responded with a hoot and perched itself on a nearby bookshelf. Satisfied that every necessary preparation had been taken, Twilight left. The Worst that Could Happen Twilight was in the most uncomfortable position imaginable. Her hind hoofs were touching her chin. Her fore hoofs... she had no idea where they were. She was strapped down to the floorboard under in the back of the flying machine. She could see the engine not three inches from her nose. But that wasn't why she was so uncomfortable; the worst part was the heat. Being stuffed in a cubby hole under a leather seat on a summer is warm enough, but she was in front of an engine that would soon be burning hot. Trixie sat on the seat above her. It was the perfect plan. Twilight would power the machine, she knew Twilight was powerful enough. While Twilight did all the work everypony would think that Trixie was the master magician who was lifting the flying machine. She would be famous, Flim and Flam would be rich, and Gilda seemed to be happy about her chance to meet up with her old friend Rainbow Dash. Everypony, and everygriffon would be happy. Trixie was a miracle worker. In the front two seats, Flim and Flam sat with childlike excitement. They planned split the work; Flam would fly the machine to Canterlot, and Flim would fly it during the show. Angel was between them in a cage that wasn't much larger than he was. He was too short to see outside of the flying machine, but he knew where they were. They were in an open meadow outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy used to take him there all of the time. Gilda was lying beside the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy. She was bored out of her mind; they had waited so long. Flam leaned over the side of the machine. "Gilda, we need you to stay back here and keep Twilight's friends from ruining everything," he ordered. Gilda sat up, "Fine." Flim and Flam nodded to each other. Flim called to Trixie, "Start her up!" Trixie looked down at Twilight and grinned. Twilight understood what Trixie meant. She looked at the engine and sighed. She concentrated as hard as she could. Her horn glowed bright purple as she tried to power the engine. The metal gears began to move... slowly. She pushed herself harder and the machine came to life. Flim and Flam hadn't expected such a fast take off. Flam scrambled to the controls and guided the machine to a smooth take off. Trixie felt the sharp pain of a deep rooted feeling of jealousy in her heart. Twilight was able to do the thing that she wasn't. She wondered if becoming famous for this great lie would bring her happiness, or just remind her of what she couldn't do. Twilight was already beginning to feel strain after a short time of flying. Canterlot was far away and Twilight would have to power through it the whole time. She was going to be very tired by the time she was done, if she could even finish at all! From town, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy watched as the plane as it flew through the air. Rainbow Dash pointed to the machine. "I'll bet that's them!" she announced, "Come on Fluttershy, we've got to save Twilight and Angel!" Pinkie huffed, "Why can't I come too?" "Pinkie Pie... you can't fly," Rainbow Dash replied. "Oh yeah, I forgot..." She giggled, "Have fun!" Showdown Gilda sat under the shade of the Cider Squeezy. At that point shading her was about the only thing the hulking machine was useful for. Had this been any other job she would have already fallen asleep, but she wouldn't miss a chance like this for the world. She saw something flying through the sky in the corner of her eye. At first it looked like another bird... two more birds. She smiled, they weren't birds a all. They were exactly what she was waiting for. Fluttershy was clearly the weak link. Every so often, Rainbow Dash had to stop and let her catch up. Gilda knew an easy way out when she saw one. She spread her wings and took flight. Rainbow Dash had started to fly ahead of Fluttershy. She wasn't too far ahead, but it had become annoying to have to check and make sure she was still within sight. Rainbow Dash slowed down and let her catch up. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, "I'll try my very best to keep up. I've never..." Fluttershy was interrupted by Gilda snatching her from below in her left claw. Fluttershy squealed in shock. Rainbow Dash hadn't seen Gilda snatch Fluttershy, it had happened so quick. She stopped and turned around when she heard Fluttershy scream. Gilda was hovering above her with a helpless Fluttershy in her grip. "G-Gilda?" she gasped. Gilda chuckled, "It's me, Dash. Sorry we didn't get to catch up last night. Now seems like a good time to talk. So, tell me. Are all of your friends as helpless as this one?" Rainbow Dash snarled in anger, she had never been so furious at someone she knew so well. She shouted, "Gilda I do not have time for this! Let go of her!" Gilda grinned, "How well do you think Fluttershy can fly with a broken wing?" She gripped Fluttershy's right wing and started to twist. Fluttershy responded with a sharp scream, "Quit whining," Gilda demanded, "I didn't even break it yet." "Stop!" Rainbow Dash cried, "Don't you dare!" "I don't dare. You are going to be the one to do it, and I'll let everyone know it was you." Gilda cleared her throat and mimicked the voice of an innocent, little girl, "Oh, it was just awful! I tried to stop her but... It was just horrible. That poor Fluttershy! I can't believe Rainbow Dash would do that to her friend!" She smiled and reverted to her normal voice, "But she does have a tendancy to betray her friends." Rainbow Dash was shocked, scared and ashamed, but mostly, she was angry. She realized only one thing could save Fluttershy, and Twilight. She would have to use psychology. "What's your next move, Dash?" Gilda teased. She still had a claw on Fluttershy's wing. Rainbow Dash looked down thoughtfully and said, "You know what Gilda? I get it, all right! I was wrong, I should have been a better friend, but are you really better off hurting Fluttershy? I told you to find new cooler friends. Did you do that? Are Flim, Flam and Trixie really the kind of ponies that are cool enough for you?" Gilda broke eye contact with Rainbow Dash. She looked down thoughtfully and said, "I... I guess they aren't." "Gilda, you're better than this," Rainbow Dash sad calmly, "I know you, the real you, and the real you isn't a jerk." Gilda paused for a moment and thought. She sighed, "Oh feelings! Why are you so confusing?" She flung Fluttershy at Rainbow Dash, who managed to safely catch her. "I've gotta go. There's something I need to break." She turned and flew strait toward Canterlot. She was out of sight within a few seconds. Rainbow Dash proudly turned to Fluttershy, "That's how you fix a problem the awesome way." Fluttershy regained here composure. "But, Rainbow Dash, when she said she had something to break, was she talking about the flying machine?" "Um... duh! What else could she possibly be talking about?" "That's what I was afraid of! She's going to destroy the machine with Twilght and Angel still in it!" "Oh hay, I didn't think of that!" She winded back and propelled forward at lightning speed. Fluttershy did the same, but with slightly slower results. Public Front Applejack was almost completely out of money. She was amazed by how quickly Canterlot could suck the money from her coin purse. She had been in Canterlot for two days visiting family, and she hated every minute of it. Meeting family was nice, but the whole time she was in the big city she just wanted to go back to Sweet Apple Acres. In Ponyville, when you're nice to somepony, they're nice back. That's what she loved about her small town home. In Canterlot, when you're nice to somepony, they ignore you. Everypony thinks they're more important than everypony else in Canterlot. Applejack was sick of the big city. Only a block away, Rarity was having the opposite experience. She just loved being a Canterlot pony. She was on a personal vacation from ponyville; after all, every week it seemed like something crazy happened. She was wearing a new, blue dress that she bought in the nearby market district. She was as happy as a pony could be and her smile was a testament to that. The two ponies were completely unaware of each other's presence, It is also important to note that neither of them were looking where they were going. For this reason, it was only natural that they both collide in the middle of a busy walkway. Rarity fell strait to the ground with a thud. Applejack kept her footing and reoriented herself to help up whomever she ran into. She held out a hoof and pulled Rarity back up. "I'm sorry 'bout that sugar cu..." she paused as she noticed who she was talking to, "Rarity! Well, I'll be! It sure is good to see you!" Rarity brushed off her new dress. "Likewise," She said. "What are you doin' out here?" Rarity pulled out a strip of green silk from her bag, and rubbed it against her left cheek. "I just love coming here. Work has been slow lately, so I'm taking the weekend off. Besides, I need to buy new fabric. What about you, AJ?" "Just visitin' family..." Another light blue mare ran in between them, bumping into Applejack without even noticing. Applejack grumbled, "This whole town could use a manners lesson..." The mare who bumped into her joined a nearby group of ponies, crowding around a wall. "Now, what is so special about that wall?" "Well, we're not going to find out by sitting here talking about it," said Rarity. She waltzed over to the crowd, followed by Applejack. They pushed there way through and found out what everyone was looking at. plastered on the wall was a very bizarre poster of a very bizarre machine that looked almost like a bird... only huge. Applejack looked at the words on the bottom of the poster and dictated them out loud, "Come and see the world famous Flim Flam brothers as they soar through the air in their new flying machine! This marks a new era in Equestrian transportation! See the Canterlot Events Office for ticket information." The crowd started to thin out as other ponies read the poster and went on with their busy days. The ponies were talking about the "Flying machine" as they walked away. "It looked so big in the picture!" one said, "Do you think it was up to scale?" "How much do tickets cost?" asked another, "I would go just to see that!" Rarity gasped, "Flim and Flam?" Rarity and Applejack both looked at each other. "I don't trust those two as far as I can throw 'em... but I guess there's no harm in giving it a look," Applejack said, "but I'm not gonna cheer for those two." Last Resort Flim and Flam were happy as can be. They were only minutes away from Canterlot, and nopony could stop them now. Flim leaned over and took in a deep breath of fresh, city air. Twilight was almost literally dying of exhaustion. She couldn't feel her body at all, but she had to continue or the plane would fall. Trixie hadn't offered any help; she just sat down and occasionally laughed at Twilight's misfortune. Flam tapped Flim and said, "Say brother, you think we can check into a nice sweet while we stay?" Flim laughed, "I don't see why not, brother." *THUD* Something bumped the bottom of the plane. Twilight almost broke her concentration. Flim looked over the side of the machine, nothing was there. "I don't see anything br..." he turned to Flam and choked on his words. Flam rolled his eyes, "What? Why are you... looking..." A shadow formed above him. "at..." He turned around. "me..." Gilda was hunkering over him with her right claw held high in the air. "G-Gilda!?" She laughed, "You guessed it." She swung her claw. Flam instinctively ducked. The claw passed over his head and collided with the left wing. Wood splintered and fabric ripped; the wing was completely destroyed. The plane began to fly out of control. It flew over Canterlot, then strait down. Applejack and Rarity were waiting in line for the Canterlot Events Office. A pony near the back of the line pointed to the earth-bound plane and shouted, “Look! That wooden bird is going to attack!” Everypony looked at the nose-diving plane and panicked and screamed. They scattered like bugs. Applejack and Rarity took cover inside the events office. Gilda realized the consequences what she did. She jumped off the plane and flew away with haste. In her heart she felt shame, but she had to leave, she couldn’t bear to watch her disaster unfold. Flim and Flam concentrated their magic to slowing down the plane. Angel’s cage fell into the floorboard. Twilight couldn’t see anything, but she knew they were going straight down. She pulled all of her remaining power and helped Flim and Flam. The plain was slowing down, but it would still kill them if they didn’t slow down more. Flim shouted, “Trixie! We need you!” Trixie sat dumbfounded. “TRIXIE!” he repeated. Trixie snapped out of her trance and magically pulled at the plane to slow it down. The plane descended slower, and slower. Within a few moments, the world’s slowest plane crash unfolded. The machine hit the ground and rolled on its left side. The machine splintered and slowly imploded. Nothing was left of the original shape of the plane. Over a hundred ponies, including Applejack and Rarity crowded around the scene. They all looked in silence. Trixie, Flim and Flam wobbled out of the wreck in a daze. Murmurs were heard from all around the crowd, “Are they okay?” “Is that Flim and Flam?” “I think it is!” “Who’s the other pony?” A wooden panel from the wreck budged. After a short pause, it lifted up and slid down the wreckage and out came Twilight with Angel resting on her back. Flim and Flam both began to cry at the loss of their beautiful creation. Before any of the crowd could start to question what had happened, the clouds parted; and down came Princess Celestia on her chariot. The chariot landed in front of the wreck and she stepped out. She looked stressed, almost scared. Simultaneously, every pony in sight bowed to her. "Celestia, I can explain!" Twilight pleaded. "No time!" She shouted, "Spike sent me a letter. That's not what's important! Don't you see? Never in Equestria have any ponies acted so selfishly, or spread so much panic, or lied to so many ponies at once! Do you know what you've done? You've unleashed Discord! ...Again!" "WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow Dash zoomed in from the clouds. "I'm... here..." She panted, "I... I made it... I missed something really important, didn't I?" To be continued in the next book of this series: Tabula Rasa Damsel in Distress Trixie paced back and forth. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew it would work. That didn't make the waiting any less painful. Gilda had laid down next to a pile of crates for a nap. Flim and were also tired, but they had far too much class to sleep at such an inappropriate time. Rainbow Dash had given her best effort to ignore Gilda and Trixie, Pinkie Pie had no such intentions. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded, "And why are there no cupcakes!? How do you expect to keep me hostage without CUPCAKES!?" Trixie quickly began to miss the silence. "You know Pinkie, you would get your might get cupcakes... If you would SHUT THE HAY UP!" Pinkie smiled, "Really?" "NO! Oh sweet Celestia, why did Gilda foalnap you? I swear, you are the most annoying hostage in Equestria!" Trixie yelled. She quickly regained her cool and flipped back some of her mane that had drooped over her nose. No one spoke for a short while. This silence was broken by the front doors to the warehouse opening. In stepped Twilight, followed by Fluttershy. Trixie smiled. "Finally, the main guests have arrived!" she said. Twilight Ignored her mocking. "Give us back our friends!" she demanded. "Not so fast," Trixie objected, "We need to strike a little deal. We haven't gone all this way just to give up." As she spoke, she magically untied Pinkie Pie's ropes. the sudden release of pressure caused Pinkie to plop on the ground. Gilda stood up and grasped pinkie by the neck. "Oh no Gilda, let her go," Trixie commanded, "We only need one hostage... and she's annoying." Gilda flung Pinkie toward Twilight. Pinkie landed on her back and groaned from the rough landing. Trixie laughed, "If you want your other friend, I want you to help us..." As she spoke Angel hopped out from behind a box doing his best not to be seen. Trixie continued "We will safely return her if you, Twilight Sparkle, come with us, and do exactly what we say..." Angel dashed over to Rainbow and started to gnaw through her ropes. Twilight stalled for time, "What exactly do you need?" Flim grinned, "We need your magic..." "...to power our amazing machine," Flam finished. Twilight questioned, "The Cider Squeezy?" She glanced at Angel, he was almost done. Flim objected, "No, not the Cider Squeezy, our flying machine!" Fluttershy began to shiver in nervous anticipation. Twilight stepped in front of her and asked, "So, Why are you going through all..." Angel finished cutting Rainbow Dash's binds, "...this?" Rainbow Dash burst from her chair and spread her wings. She picked up Angel and instinctively flew toward Twilight. Seeing this, Gilda jumped up and smacked her in the air violently. Rainbow Dash regained her heading and flew to Twilight, not noticing that she dropped Angel. Gilda had the bunny in her right claw. "Hey Dash, you dropped something!" she called. "Oh no!" Fluttershy cried. A few tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Trixie recomposed herself, "That will have to do," she said, "Twilight, come with us and we won't hurt the bunny." Glida laughed, "I can't even hurt it a little?" "Why you little..." Rainbow Dash yelled. She pulled back to charge at Trixie, but Twilight held her tail to stop her. "No, Rainbow Dash," she said, "We can't let them hurt Angel." Gilda responded by tightening her grip on the bunny. Fluttershy in turn began to cry. Twilight sighed and walked to Trixie's side. "You win for now, but I'm not letting you get away with this!" Flam laughed, "Oh, but we already have!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Gilda, "This is NOT over." She and Fluttershy left the warehouse, thinking of their next move. As they left, Fluttershy gently closed the front door behind them. Trixie smiled at Twilight, "We have a lot to do, Twi." Twilight gave a fake, nervous smile. Things had not gone as she had planned. She had to think of something fast before it was too late.
The Famous, Flying Machine Flim and Flam had never worked so hard on anything but a sales pitch. The thing they had worked so hard on for months had brought them nothing but bruised hoofs and sweat drenched fur; but today, it would make them rich. They were in a large shed that they had rented with the last of their apple cider sales. The machine hunkered over them, nearly filling the entire shed. It wasn't the best looking machine. It was only what it needed to be to work properly. Flim crawled out from under one of its three wheels, "Gilda," he called, "Would you be so kind as to bring me a rag?" Gilda the griffin was leaning against the far wall of the shack, inspecting her claws. She easily could have been helping Flim and Flam on their project, but, that wasn't what she was being paid for. She was paid thirteen bitts a day to act as bodyguard. Bodyguard! What a waste of time! No one had even gone so far as to touch them. The pay was reasonable, but it was obvious that they couldn't afford her much longer. "Gilda!" Flim called again. "Yeah, yeah, stop complaining ya baby," Gilda responded. She picked up a rag that had been conveniently placed at her feet and hurled it at Flim. It landed perfectly on his face. Flam called out from the front of the shack, "Flim, Gilda, come look!" Flim immediately ran toward Flam’s voice, doing so caused the rag that had been resting on his nose to plop to the ground. Gilda slowly moped over, having no intentions of showing any kind of excitement or interest. "What now?" she said. Flim walked to Flam's right side, Gilda stood to his left. Flam pointed at the machine, "Check out the view ol' brother of mine." Flim spoke to himself, "I don't see why I have to come over here. I could see it just fine from the..." He looked toward the machine, "...oh my." It was cigar shaped, aside from two sets of wings on its sides and a propeller in the front . It had two seats in the front, and one in the back. Its polished wooden frame gleamed in the sunlight (which was shining through a hole in the roof). "A much better view," Flam stated. Flim's eyes opened wide, like a child on his birthday, "It's... it's..." "Lame," Gilda interrupted. "Oh, but Gilda, of course a Griffin won't care," said Flam. "Nor would anything that can fly in the air," added Flim. He started to move to the sound of a nonexistent drum beat. Gilda cringed, "Please don't sing!" "Too late," they said, "This will be our... world famous, flying machine! It'll make us richer than anything! Oh, because everypony will know... that it'll take you where you need to go! The age of pegasus drawn carriages is over, a thing of the past. We all knew it wouldn't last. Oh, it's the age of our world famous, flying ma..." Gilda grabbed them both by the necks, "Shut up! I can't put up with your awful singing!" She took a deep breath, "Now, I'm gonna let go of your necks. Do you PROMISE not to sing?" They nodded their heads. Gilda released them and they fell to the ground. "Sorry," Flim said insincerely, "Anyway, there's just one thing we need to make our flying machine work..." "...a unicorn!" Flam finished. "Oh, so those horns on your heads are just for decoration?" Gilda teased. "No, we can't do it," Flim replied, "We need a much more powerful unicorn than us to sit in the back and power the machine!" "Besides," Flam added, "We need to sit in the front and pilot the machine." Flim put a hoof on his chin, "Where will we find a pony like that?" "You dweebs don't get out much, do you? What about just hiring the Great and Powerful Trixie? Haven't you heard people talk about her?" Gilda suggested. "Who?" "Some unicorn, she's putting on a magic show in Trottingham. She says she's the best. That's what I've heard at least," Gilda answered. "Trottingham? That's too far away," Flam complained. "...It's a five minute walk..." "Oh, well then, let's go." Flam opened the shack door. "After you, Gilda." Gilda didn't budge. "I'm not paid to help you pick up mares." Flim blushed. "We are not 'picking her up', we are hiring her." Gilda chuckled, "Sure you're not." Flam grabbed his hat and put it on. "You will come," he said, "or you won't be paid." Gilda sat up. "You know what? I think I was planning on going into town anyway."
The Perfect Plan The Great and Powerful Trixie preformed her amazing feats of wonder to a less than attentive crowd. Out of all the towns she had been to, Trottingham had the all-time worst crowd. Only five ponies were in the audience, and two of them were asleep. What a show she thought to herself. She made lights appear and explode. She made flowers turn to life and dance. She could do more than that; she had become more powerful ever since Twilight had humiliated her. Although she could do more, the small audience didn't deserve to see her greatness. But they would all see some day. She finished her act with small a fireworks show that shot from her hoofs, and took a bow. She didn't expect much applause, but to her pleasant surprise two audience members started to cheer. They were both unicorns, and they looked very similar to each other, only one of them had a rather large handlebar mustache. However, a much less pleased pegasus from the audience began to heckle her, "Boo, that was totally fake! You can't do magic! I bet you're not even a unicorn!" Trixie began to cry and dashed off the stage. Flim and Flam had been in the audience during the entire show. They watched Trixie run to her trailer in shame. "Boo, you still can't do magic!" The heckler continued. Flam had had enough, "Gilda, show this man some manners, would you?" Gilda woke up from her nap on a park bench, "Huh, oh yeah, sure." Flim and Flam walked to Trixie's trailer, ignoring the sounds of Gilda's manner lesson. They approached the dainty, wooden structure and knocked on the door. After getting no response, they knocked again. This time, the door flung open. Trixie stood in the entrance, covered in tears and red with rage. "Who dares disturb the Great and Powerful Trixie!?" she yelled. Flim and Flam removed their hats in gentlemen-like respect. "Allow me to introduce myself," Flim requested, "I'm Flim, and this man here is my brother Flam. We couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be... er... holding back on your magical talent. Now, if you're not so attached to this town, we may be able to give you an offer." Trixie wasn't convinced, "What does it pay?" Flam grinned, "Are you into unimaginable fame, Trixie?" Trixie finally gave them her full attention, "I can imagine a lot." "Oh but we can imagine more, and we can offer more," Flim promised. Trixie thought hard for a good ten seconds, "I'll see what your offer is. Then I'll make my choice." Flim stepped out of the doorway, "Just follow us, miss. See for yourself." Flim and Flam led Trixie to the old shack where they built there machine. The flying machine almost didn't fit outside of the shacks doors as it was slowly towed out by the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. As soon as it was completely in view Flim grinded the machine to a halt. Flim and Flam hopped off the Cider Squeezy, "Well, what do you think ma'am?" Flam asked. Trixie was sitting beside the shack, next to Gilda. She was no longer wearing her magician robes. "What in Equestria is that thing?" she said. Her tone was not flattering. Flim and Flam opened their mouths to sing, but stopped when they looked at Gilda. "It's a flying machine, my dear, the first ever." Flim answered. "Okay, and it's very pretty," Trixie said, "I know you wouldn't dare waste the Great and Powerful Trixie's time. So tell me what you need me for." Flam cleared his throat, "Well, you see ma'am. We will be presenting this machine in Canterlot two days from now." "The word is already out, we got a chance to show the machine as the opening act for a wonderbolt show! Everypony who's anypony will be there, including the princess herself!" Flim added. "Yes, and we need one last thing before this machine can become famous. We need a powerful unicorn!" "Well, look no further!" Trixie boasted, "I am powerful!" "Exactly," Flam agreed, "We need somepony with your talents! do you think you could sit in that back seat and use your amazing magic to power the engine?" "Maybe..." Flim jumped to her side, "Did I mention unimaginable fame?" Trixie smiled and jumped onto the machine, "Oh, I almost forgot! Unimaginable fame, people watching me, adoring me! Oh, they will come from miles around just to chant my beautiful name: The Great and Powerful Trixie! Now, what do I do?" Flim and Flam exchanged smiles, "Well first of all, you're in the pilot's seat," Flam pointed at the back seat, "That's were you go." "...Oh..." Trixie corrected herself by hopping to the back seat, "Now what?" "Now," Flam instructed, "you need to use your magic to power the engine. Just get it to heat up!" Trixie looked down. The engine was right at her front hoofs in a compartment below the seat, "Okay," she said nervously, "here it goes." She took a deep breath and concentrated all her energy into the engine. Her horn started to glow bright blue. The engine made a few gurgling noises, and the propeller started to spin very slowly. This lasted about five seconds before Trixie stopped and fell down in her seat from exhaustion. Flim shook his head, "Well brother of mine, it looks like this will never happen, looks like we're ruined." Trixie jumped in front of them, "WAIT!" she screamed, "I can't do it, but I know how to make it work!" Gilda pushed Trixie to the ground, "Buzz off, you had your chance." "But, I'm not going to be the one to do it!" Flim replied confused, "What do you mean?" "Twilight Sparkle," Trixie proposed plainly. "From Ponyville?" Gilda asked, "We don't have a good track record with that town..." Trixie smiled, "Nor do I. So, we force her to help us! And while she powers the machine, I'll stand above her and my adoring fans will be none the wiser!" Flim looked to her curiously, "How?" "Come in closer, I'll tell you. I hope you don't mind getting your hoofs dirty."
The Calm Before At Froggy-Bottom Bog, Pinkie Pie bounced alongside Rainbow Dash in child-like excitement. Just about that time, Rainbow Dash was in the process of going over the choices she had made in life that got her in this terrible predicament. Even the frogs didn't seem to be enjoying themselves that unpleasant afternoon. While still bouncing, Pinkie started to rant, "This is so super duper fun! Lets see, Zacora's list says that all we need now is: three moss rocks, two blue toadstools, and some..." Pinky stopped reading and looked up. "Oh Pinkie, what is it now?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyed. She was tired of putting up with Pinkie Pie's crazy antics. "I don't know. My tail's all twitchy!" Pinkie said. Her tail was standing upright and vibrating rapidly. "Oh no..." an apple suddenly fell on Rainbow Dash's head. "Aww!" she yelped, "Hey, there aren't any apple trees in Froggy-Bottom Bog! Who threw that?" A voice from the trees answered, "Well, I had to get your attention somehow, Dash." Rainbow Dash grew a look of surprise, "I know that voice! Gilda!?" Gilda soared from the trees and landed in front of the two ponies, "The one and only." She spread her wings and puffed out her chest. Pinkie jumped in shock, "Gilda, what are you... why are you... when did you..." Gilda forced a smile, "Hold that almost coherent thought! I just wanted to come here to... make up for what I did. You know, apologize." The words rolled from her tongue in a painful, forced way. They were as unnatural as the fake smile on her face. Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced that Gilda was sincere, "So you're sorry for flipping out at the party?" "Yes" "And making Fluttershy cry?" Pinkie added. Gilda slowly became annoyed from the painful process of pretending she cared. She forced a fake look of shame, "Yes, yes, yes, all that stuff. and I know how to make it up to ya." She grinned and put one wing on each of the ponies, while guiding them away from the bog. "But, what about the others?" Rainbow Dash asked. Gilda giggled, "They'll show up. All your little friends will be there soon." Pinkie Pie clapped her forehoofs together happily. "Do you mean like a party? I love parties!" Gilda guided them along further. "Oh yeah," she said, "It's going to be one, big party." She grinned slightly. Pinkie looked around and realized she had no idea where they were going. "Where are you taking us?" she asked. "Somewhere cool, really cool." Gilda led them out of Froggy-Bottom Bog, and into what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Gilda eventually took them somewhere not far from town where an abandoned cider warehouse seemed to be the only landmark. They walked to the front door. The wooden steps creaked and moaned as they stepped over them. At that point, Rainbow Dash realized that something was wrong, where as Pinkie still had an innocent smile on her face. "What's going on? Gilda please tell me." Rainbow Dash pleaded. The front door was opened by Flim who stood in the entrance next to Flam. They smiled. Rainbow Dash started to struggle, but Gilda's grip tightened. "What are you doing, Gilda?" Gilda grabbed Pinkie and Rainbow Dash by the necks. "Don't worry, Dash!" she said as she threw them into the warehouse, "I got it all under control."
Desperate Times Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were tied to two back to back chairs. Despite her best efforts. Rainbow Dash couldn't manage to free her wings. She had been struggling for a few minutes, making no progress. Gilda had been watching them both ever since she first tied them to the chairs. Gilda laughed at her struggling, "Give it a rest, Dash. You couldn't wrestle your way out if the rope was made of yarn!" She laughed, pleasing herself with her joke. Pinkie tried to look over her shoulder, but couldn't make eye contact with Gilda. "Gilda! Why are you doing this?" she cried, "I thought you said you were sorry!" "What for?" Gilda slapped Pinkie across the face with her sharp claws, "I don't regret a thing." Rainbow Dash grunted, and struggled even more. She became angrier than she had ever been and yelled, "Gilda! What the hay is wrong with you? After what you already did, you come back and do this! You ponynaped us! You hit Pinkie Pie! You made Fluttershy cry, that takes a new kind of low! You used to be nice! When did you change? Why did you change?" "You're the one who changed, Dash. You left me to go to Ponyville and hang out with these... losers. You lost your cool, Dash. To think, you used to be worth my time." "Oh, I'm so glad you're having fun together!" said the sarcastic voice of Trixie as she walked in. Flim and Flam followed her happily. Rainbow Dash stared in disbelief, "Trixie? Flim and Flam? Is every jerk in equestria in on this?" Trixie placed a hoof on her heart, "Oh Dash, you hurt my feelings. I just need to ask for help from that Twilight friend of yours." Pinkie said innocently, "Well, why don't you ask her? You didn't have to tie us up!" Trixie laughed in amusement, "But, I did! I need her magic without all of her annoying free will getting in the way." Gilda looked down at her wing to see Snips and Snails tugging on her feathers. "Wow! See Snails, I told you! It's a real griffon!" Snips said excitedly. Gilda tugged her wing back. "I honestly did not see that coming," she said. She Glared at the two colts and they slowly backed away. Snips backed into a crate that was labeled 'FRAGILE'. Snails eventually stopped and cowered next to Snips. Trixie gasped, "You two, again! What are you doing here?" "We live here," Snails said. Trixie yelled in impatience, "Just, get out of here! I can't have you ruining this like last time!" Snips and Snails bowed. "Okay Trixie, we'll just um..." Snips said. He looked over Trixie’s tail and saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, "Hi girls, why are you all tied up?" Pinkie called them, "Snips, Snails, go get help!" Snips and Snails slowly backed away. Trixie made no effort to stop them. "Go," she said, "get help." Snips and Snails exchanged glances and bolted through the front doors. Flim and Flam both bore looks of confusion. "You're just going to let them get away?" Flim inquired. Gilda Sighed, "You dweebs didn't listen to the plan did you?" Trixie rubbed her hoofs together, "Don't you worry," she said, "by tomorrow, Twilight will be ours. And you, my friends, will be rich!" Trixie clapped her hoofs together and laughed. Snips and Snails were running as fast as they could toward Fluttershy's cottage. When Snips looked back at the warehouse, he saw that the door was still open. Trixie was standing at the entrance. She was watching them. The two colts passed a few trees and the warehouse was out of sight. Fluttershy was outside of her cottage. It was late, but Fluttershy couldn't resist a chance to see all of Equestria's beautiful lightning bugs. She giggled as one landed on her nose. The lightning bugs disbanded to the sound of two approaching colts. Fluttershy looked around to see what scared the bugs, "Rainbow Dash... Pinkie? I-is that you?" She saw the forms of two ponies running toward her in the moonlight. She gasped and jumped into a nearby bush. Snips and Snails dashed into her view; they stopped to catch their breath. "Fluttershy," Snips called out, "Your friends need your help! You gotta listen!" He looked around, "Fluttershy, where are you?" He walked over to the bush and saw her tail on the ground. "Fluttershy, your friends need your help! So stop foolin' around and save 'em, eh." Fluttershy poked her head out of the bush. "Oh, um... I'm sorry," she said, "I just... wait, what did you say?" Snips pulled her out of the bush by her tail. "Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are in trouble! They like, totally need your 'elp!" Snails cried. "Oh my," Fluttershy gasped, "I need to go tell Twilight! Tell me the details on the way. I mean, if that's okay." She turned and ran toward Twilight's house. Snips turned to Snails, "Have I ever told you I hate running?" Snails nodded his head. Twilight sat on her bed reading a very good book. She had a limited edition copy of the first Moonlight book, a series of books about a sparkly pony vampire that falls in love with a unicorn. Times like that were what made her week, peace, quiet, and a good book. She was not going to get that pleasure this night. After a short time of peace, she heard the loud sound of her front door being bucked open. "Um... Snails, I don't think that was necessary," Fluttershy's voice said. Twilight jumped off her bed. Fluttershy, Snips, and Snails ran up her stairs. "Fluttershy! What are you doing?" Twilight said, "You almost woke up Spike. Snails looked at Spike. He was still asleep. "Sorry about your door miss Twilight," Snails said as he Turned to Twilight." "My door?" Snails blushed, "Nothing." Snips interrupted, "Twilight! we need to tell you something! Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are in trouble!" After taking a few deep breaths, Snips and Snails told Twilight everything they had seen that night. Twilight put a hoof on her chin in thought. "Well, that was a shocking story! I think I know how we can get them back," she said, "Fluttershy, go get Angel. Snips, Snails... just... just go home; you've helped enough already." Snips frowned, "Oh, okay. Come on, Snails." He walked away, followed by Snails. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, "Okay, get Angel. We need to save our friends!" "Why do we need angel?" "I'll explain on the way, lets go!" They both dashed down the stairs. Before leaving her house, Twilight stopped to address Owlowlicious, "Hold the fort while I'm gone, okay?" The owl responded with a hoot and perched itself on a nearby bookshelf. Satisfied that every necessary preparation had been taken, Twilight left.
The Worst that Could Happen Twilight was in the most uncomfortable position imaginable. Her hind hoofs were touching her chin. Her fore hoofs... she had no idea where they were. She was strapped down to the floorboard under in the back of the flying machine. She could see the engine not three inches from her nose. But that wasn't why she was so uncomfortable; the worst part was the heat. Being stuffed in a cubby hole under a leather seat on a summer is warm enough, but she was in front of an engine that would soon be burning hot. Trixie sat on the seat above her. It was the perfect plan. Twilight would power the machine, she knew Twilight was powerful enough. While Twilight did all the work everypony would think that Trixie was the master magician who was lifting the flying machine. She would be famous, Flim and Flam would be rich, and Gilda seemed to be happy about her chance to meet up with her old friend Rainbow Dash. Everypony, and everygriffon would be happy. Trixie was a miracle worker. In the front two seats, Flim and Flam sat with childlike excitement. They planned split the work; Flam would fly the machine to Canterlot, and Flim would fly it during the show. Angel was between them in a cage that wasn't much larger than he was. He was too short to see outside of the flying machine, but he knew where they were. They were in an open meadow outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy used to take him there all of the time. Gilda was lying beside the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy. She was bored out of her mind; they had waited so long. Flam leaned over the side of the machine. "Gilda, we need you to stay back here and keep Twilight's friends from ruining everything," he ordered. Gilda sat up, "Fine." Flim and Flam nodded to each other. Flim called to Trixie, "Start her up!" Trixie looked down at Twilight and grinned. Twilight understood what Trixie meant. She looked at the engine and sighed. She concentrated as hard as she could. Her horn glowed bright purple as she tried to power the engine. The metal gears began to move... slowly. She pushed herself harder and the machine came to life. Flim and Flam hadn't expected such a fast take off. Flam scrambled to the controls and guided the machine to a smooth take off. Trixie felt the sharp pain of a deep rooted feeling of jealousy in her heart. Twilight was able to do the thing that she wasn't. She wondered if becoming famous for this great lie would bring her happiness, or just remind her of what she couldn't do. Twilight was already beginning to feel strain after a short time of flying. Canterlot was far away and Twilight would have to power through it the whole time. She was going to be very tired by the time she was done, if she could even finish at all! From town, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy watched as the plane as it flew through the air. Rainbow Dash pointed to the machine. "I'll bet that's them!" she announced, "Come on Fluttershy, we've got to save Twilight and Angel!" Pinkie huffed, "Why can't I come too?" "Pinkie Pie... you can't fly," Rainbow Dash replied. "Oh yeah, I forgot..." She giggled, "Have fun!"
Showdown Gilda sat under the shade of the Cider Squeezy. At that point shading her was about the only thing the hulking machine was useful for. Had this been any other job she would have already fallen asleep, but she wouldn't miss a chance like this for the world. She saw something flying through the sky in the corner of her eye. At first it looked like another bird... two more birds. She smiled, they weren't birds a all. They were exactly what she was waiting for. Fluttershy was clearly the weak link. Every so often, Rainbow Dash had to stop and let her catch up. Gilda knew an easy way out when she saw one. She spread her wings and took flight. Rainbow Dash had started to fly ahead of Fluttershy. She wasn't too far ahead, but it had become annoying to have to check and make sure she was still within sight. Rainbow Dash slowed down and let her catch up. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said, "I'll try my very best to keep up. I've never..." Fluttershy was interrupted by Gilda snatching her from below in her left claw. Fluttershy squealed in shock. Rainbow Dash hadn't seen Gilda snatch Fluttershy, it had happened so quick. She stopped and turned around when she heard Fluttershy scream. Gilda was hovering above her with a helpless Fluttershy in her grip. "G-Gilda?" she gasped. Gilda chuckled, "It's me, Dash. Sorry we didn't get to catch up last night. Now seems like a good time to talk. So, tell me. Are all of your friends as helpless as this one?" Rainbow Dash snarled in anger, she had never been so furious at someone she knew so well. She shouted, "Gilda I do not have time for this! Let go of her!" Gilda grinned, "How well do you think Fluttershy can fly with a broken wing?" She gripped Fluttershy's right wing and started to twist. Fluttershy responded with a sharp scream, "Quit whining," Gilda demanded, "I didn't even break it yet." "Stop!" Rainbow Dash cried, "Don't you dare!" "I don't dare. You are going to be the one to do it, and I'll let everyone know it was you." Gilda cleared her throat and mimicked the voice of an innocent, little girl, "Oh, it was just awful! I tried to stop her but... It was just horrible. That poor Fluttershy! I can't believe Rainbow Dash would do that to her friend!" She smiled and reverted to her normal voice, "But she does have a tendancy to betray her friends." Rainbow Dash was shocked, scared and ashamed, but mostly, she was angry. She realized only one thing could save Fluttershy, and Twilight. She would have to use psychology. "What's your next move, Dash?" Gilda teased. She still had a claw on Fluttershy's wing. Rainbow Dash looked down thoughtfully and said, "You know what Gilda? I get it, all right! I was wrong, I should have been a better friend, but are you really better off hurting Fluttershy? I told you to find new cooler friends. Did you do that? Are Flim, Flam and Trixie really the kind of ponies that are cool enough for you?" Gilda broke eye contact with Rainbow Dash. She looked down thoughtfully and said, "I... I guess they aren't." "Gilda, you're better than this," Rainbow Dash sad calmly, "I know you, the real you, and the real you isn't a jerk." Gilda paused for a moment and thought. She sighed, "Oh feelings! Why are you so confusing?" She flung Fluttershy at Rainbow Dash, who managed to safely catch her. "I've gotta go. There's something I need to break." She turned and flew strait toward Canterlot. She was out of sight within a few seconds. Rainbow Dash proudly turned to Fluttershy, "That's how you fix a problem the awesome way." Fluttershy regained here composure. "But, Rainbow Dash, when she said she had something to break, was she talking about the flying machine?" "Um... duh! What else could she possibly be talking about?" "That's what I was afraid of! She's going to destroy the machine with Twilght and Angel still in it!" "Oh hay, I didn't think of that!" She winded back and propelled forward at lightning speed. Fluttershy did the same, but with slightly slower results.
Public Front Applejack was almost completely out of money. She was amazed by how quickly Canterlot could suck the money from her coin purse. She had been in Canterlot for two days visiting family, and she hated every minute of it. Meeting family was nice, but the whole time she was in the big city she just wanted to go back to Sweet Apple Acres. In Ponyville, when you're nice to somepony, they're nice back. That's what she loved about her small town home. In Canterlot, when you're nice to somepony, they ignore you. Everypony thinks they're more important than everypony else in Canterlot. Applejack was sick of the big city. Only a block away, Rarity was having the opposite experience. She just loved being a Canterlot pony. She was on a personal vacation from ponyville; after all, every week it seemed like something crazy happened. She was wearing a new, blue dress that she bought in the nearby market district. She was as happy as a pony could be and her smile was a testament to that. The two ponies were completely unaware of each other's presence, It is also important to note that neither of them were looking where they were going. For this reason, it was only natural that they both collide in the middle of a busy walkway. Rarity fell strait to the ground with a thud. Applejack kept her footing and reoriented herself to help up whomever she ran into. She held out a hoof and pulled Rarity back up. "I'm sorry 'bout that sugar cu..." she paused as she noticed who she was talking to, "Rarity! Well, I'll be! It sure is good to see you!" Rarity brushed off her new dress. "Likewise," She said. "What are you doin' out here?" Rarity pulled out a strip of green silk from her bag, and rubbed it against her left cheek. "I just love coming here. Work has been slow lately, so I'm taking the weekend off. Besides, I need to buy new fabric. What about you, AJ?" "Just visitin' family..." Another light blue mare ran in between them, bumping into Applejack without even noticing. Applejack grumbled, "This whole town could use a manners lesson..." The mare who bumped into her joined a nearby group of ponies, crowding around a wall. "Now, what is so special about that wall?" "Well, we're not going to find out by sitting here talking about it," said Rarity. She waltzed over to the crowd, followed by Applejack. They pushed there way through and found out what everyone was looking at. plastered on the wall was a very bizarre poster of a very bizarre machine that looked almost like a bird... only huge. Applejack looked at the words on the bottom of the poster and dictated them out loud, "Come and see the world famous Flim Flam brothers as they soar through the air in their new flying machine! This marks a new era in Equestrian transportation! See the Canterlot Events Office for ticket information." The crowd started to thin out as other ponies read the poster and went on with their busy days. The ponies were talking about the "Flying machine" as they walked away. "It looked so big in the picture!" one said, "Do you think it was up to scale?" "How much do tickets cost?" asked another, "I would go just to see that!" Rarity gasped, "Flim and Flam?" Rarity and Applejack both looked at each other. "I don't trust those two as far as I can throw 'em... but I guess there's no harm in giving it a look," Applejack said, "but I'm not gonna cheer for those two."
Last Resort Flim and Flam were happy as can be. They were only minutes away from Canterlot, and nopony could stop them now. Flim leaned over and took in a deep breath of fresh, city air. Twilight was almost literally dying of exhaustion. She couldn't feel her body at all, but she had to continue or the plane would fall. Trixie hadn't offered any help; she just sat down and occasionally laughed at Twilight's misfortune. Flam tapped Flim and said, "Say brother, you think we can check into a nice sweet while we stay?" Flim laughed, "I don't see why not, brother." *THUD* Something bumped the bottom of the plane. Twilight almost broke her concentration. Flim looked over the side of the machine, nothing was there. "I don't see anything br..." he turned to Flam and choked on his words. Flam rolled his eyes, "What? Why are you... looking..." A shadow formed above him. "at..." He turned around. "me..." Gilda was hunkering over him with her right claw held high in the air. "G-Gilda!?" She laughed, "You guessed it." She swung her claw. Flam instinctively ducked. The claw passed over his head and collided with the left wing. Wood splintered and fabric ripped; the wing was completely destroyed. The plane began to fly out of control. It flew over Canterlot, then strait down. Applejack and Rarity were waiting in line for the Canterlot Events Office. A pony near the back of the line pointed to the earth-bound plane and shouted, “Look! That wooden bird is going to attack!” Everypony looked at the nose-diving plane and panicked and screamed. They scattered like bugs. Applejack and Rarity took cover inside the events office. Gilda realized the consequences what she did. She jumped off the plane and flew away with haste. In her heart she felt shame, but she had to leave, she couldn’t bear to watch her disaster unfold. Flim and Flam concentrated their magic to slowing down the plane. Angel’s cage fell into the floorboard. Twilight couldn’t see anything, but she knew they were going straight down. She pulled all of her remaining power and helped Flim and Flam. The plain was slowing down, but it would still kill them if they didn’t slow down more. Flim shouted, “Trixie! We need you!” Trixie sat dumbfounded. “TRIXIE!” he repeated. Trixie snapped out of her trance and magically pulled at the plane to slow it down. The plane descended slower, and slower. Within a few moments, the world’s slowest plane crash unfolded. The machine hit the ground and rolled on its left side. The machine splintered and slowly imploded. Nothing was left of the original shape of the plane. Over a hundred ponies, including Applejack and Rarity crowded around the scene. They all looked in silence. Trixie, Flim and Flam wobbled out of the wreck in a daze. Murmurs were heard from all around the crowd, “Are they okay?” “Is that Flim and Flam?” “I think it is!” “Who’s the other pony?” A wooden panel from the wreck budged. After a short pause, it lifted up and slid down the wreckage and out came Twilight with Angel resting on her back. Flim and Flam both began to cry at the loss of their beautiful creation. Before any of the crowd could start to question what had happened, the clouds parted; and down came Princess Celestia on her chariot. The chariot landed in front of the wreck and she stepped out. She looked stressed, almost scared. Simultaneously, every pony in sight bowed to her. "Celestia, I can explain!" Twilight pleaded. "No time!" She shouted, "Spike sent me a letter. That's not what's important! Don't you see? Never in Equestria have any ponies acted so selfishly, or spread so much panic, or lied to so many ponies at once! Do you know what you've done? You've unleashed Discord! ...Again!" "WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow Dash zoomed in from the clouds. "I'm... here..." She panted, "I... I made it... I missed something really important, didn't I?" To be continued in the next book of this series: Tabula Rasa
Damsel in Distress Trixie paced back and forth. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew it would work. That didn't make the waiting any less painful. Gilda had laid down next to a pile of crates for a nap. Flim and were also tired, but they had far too much class to sleep at such an inappropriate time. Rainbow Dash had given her best effort to ignore Gilda and Trixie, Pinkie Pie had no such intentions. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded, "And why are there no cupcakes!? How do you expect to keep me hostage without CUPCAKES!?" Trixie quickly began to miss the silence. "You know Pinkie, you would get your might get cupcakes... If you would SHUT THE HAY UP!" Pinkie smiled, "Really?" "NO! Oh sweet Celestia, why did Gilda foalnap you? I swear, you are the most annoying hostage in Equestria!" Trixie yelled. She quickly regained her cool and flipped back some of her mane that had drooped over her nose. No one spoke for a short while. This silence was broken by the front doors to the warehouse opening. In stepped Twilight, followed by Fluttershy. Trixie smiled. "Finally, the main guests have arrived!" she said. Twilight Ignored her mocking. "Give us back our friends!" she demanded. "Not so fast," Trixie objected, "We need to strike a little deal. We haven't gone all this way just to give up." As she spoke, she magically untied Pinkie Pie's ropes. the sudden release of pressure caused Pinkie to plop on the ground. Gilda stood up and grasped pinkie by the neck. "Oh no Gilda, let her go," Trixie commanded, "We only need one hostage... and she's annoying." Gilda flung Pinkie toward Twilight. Pinkie landed on her back and groaned from the rough landing. Trixie laughed, "If you want your other friend, I want you to help us..." As she spoke Angel hopped out from behind a box doing his best not to be seen. Trixie continued "We will safely return her if you, Twilight Sparkle, come with us, and do exactly what we say..." Angel dashed over to Rainbow and started to gnaw through her ropes. Twilight stalled for time, "What exactly do you need?" Flim grinned, "We need your magic..." "...to power our amazing machine," Flam finished. Twilight questioned, "The Cider Squeezy?" She glanced at Angel, he was almost done. Flim objected, "No, not the Cider Squeezy, our flying machine!" Fluttershy began to shiver in nervous anticipation. Twilight stepped in front of her and asked, "So, Why are you going through all..." Angel finished cutting Rainbow Dash's binds, "...this?" Rainbow Dash burst from her chair and spread her wings. She picked up Angel and instinctively flew toward Twilight. Seeing this, Gilda jumped up and smacked her in the air violently. Rainbow Dash regained her heading and flew to Twilight, not noticing that she dropped Angel. Gilda had the bunny in her right claw. "Hey Dash, you dropped something!" she called. "Oh no!" Fluttershy cried. A few tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Trixie recomposed herself, "That will have to do," she said, "Twilight, come with us and we won't hurt the bunny." Glida laughed, "I can't even hurt it a little?" "Why you little..." Rainbow Dash yelled. She pulled back to charge at Trixie, but Twilight held her tail to stop her. "No, Rainbow Dash," she said, "We can't let them hurt Angel." Gilda responded by tightening her grip on the bunny. Fluttershy in turn began to cry. Twilight sighed and walked to Trixie's side. "You win for now, but I'm not letting you get away with this!" Flam laughed, "Oh, but we already have!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Gilda, "This is NOT over." She and Fluttershy left the warehouse, thinking of their next move. As they left, Fluttershy gently closed the front door behind them. Trixie smiled at Twilight, "We have a lot to do, Twi." Twilight gave a fake, nervous smile. Things had not gone as she had planned. She had to think of something fast before it was too late.
