//------------------------------// // An Irndignaritated Reunion // Story: Wrath Of The Jabberwock // by Mr. Grimm //------------------------------// A great mass lay strewn about the yard of FlimFlam Farms. It consisted of a great quantity of shredded purple cloth, a variety of broken wood, a shattered frame of some winged object, and a smoldering engine. The pile of rubbish remained still for what seemed like an eternity. Something suddenly shifted. A purple hoof reached out of a fold of violet silk, slowly and apprehensively, like a turtle emerging from its shell. It was followed by another hoof, and then the messy mane of a wobbly unicorn mare. Her blank eyes were wide, and her mouth was stuck in a traumatized frown. Her left eye twitched as she began to crawl from the basket, dragging her body out onto the grass. She lay completely still for quite some time, just laying face down in the grass in silent appreciation of once again being on solid ground. At last she finally began to rise up, letting out a sigh as she unsteadily lifted herself to her hooves. She became quiet as she noticed the damage around her. Her balloon was in tatters, the contents of its basket scattered about the wreckage. Merged with it was the remains of the flying machine that had rescued them. The unicorn stared at the damage, barely able to believe what she was seeing, and now just comprehending that her friends may have died in the crash. Twilight jumped as Flim suddenly sat up from a mound of canvas and wood, tenderly holding a hoof to his head. “Alright,” he called out rather irritably, “Sound off. Who’s not dead?” A chorus of groans came from various points of the wreckage, and it suddenly came to life with a flurry of feeble motion. Flam poked his head out of the bottom of a broken box, his mane and mustache a mess. Pinkie burst out of a pile of ruined maps, completely unharmed, while Trixie tried to untangle herself from a lopsided pile of rope. Twilight did a double take upon seeing Flim and Flam. “…You two?!” she cried in dumbfounded disbelief. Flim looked back at her from over his shoulder as he pulled Flam from the box. “None other,” he grunted, yanking at his brother’s arms. “It’s us alright,” added Flam. “Hey!” Pinkie shouted excitedly as she bounded out of the busted balloon, “Flim and Flam! How ya doin’?” “Flim and Flam?” Trixie cried venomously, struggling madly to untwist herself from the ropes, “What are those two thieving charlatans doing here?” “It’s nice to see you again too, Trixie,” Flim said dryly as he freed his brother from the box. Trixie glared over at them from behind the web of frayed fibers that drooped over her face. “And if you must know why we’re here,” said Flam as he dusted himself off, “It’s because we were saving you from the Jabberwock.” “The Great and Powerful Trixie could have handled it!” snapped the mare, though everyone present, even Pinkie, knew her statement was absolute bunk. “Sure you could’ve,” replied Flim, “Just like you handled that Hodag back in Reignlander.” Trixie’s face became a portrait of rage as she furiously tore around in her prison of rope, desperate to free herself so that she could wring the stallion’s neck. “That was entirely your fault!” roared the azure mare, “If it hadn’t of been for you two bumbling idiots--” “You would have been Hodag-chow,” finished Flam. Trixie continued to angrily flail about in the ropes, until at last she came to resemble a great ball of yarn. Flim and Flam both trotted over to the mare, who was baring her teeth in rage. “Look at that, Flam,” Flim chuckled, “She looks just like she did when we first met her.” “Indeed she does, brother,” laughed Flam. “Both of you shut up and get me out of here,” seethed the ire-eyed mare. Twilight had been watching all of this with a mildly confused look on her face. From the way they interacted, it was quite obvious that the two parties had met before. The exact nature of their relationship was uncertain, but if she had to guess, it would be something between friendship and rivalry. “Hey you guys!” Pinkie said, suddenly popping up among the three unicorns, “I just wanna thank you for saving us! I’m gonna throw you guys a Thanks-For-Saving-Us-From-Certain-Death-At-The-Jaws-Of-The-Jabberwock Party!” Flim and Flam paused as the mare hopped around them in a circle, her homemade armor clanking with each leap. “Uh…Thank you dearly, Ms. Pie,” said Flim. “Of course!” said the wildly grinning mare, “Anytime! And then maybe I could finally throw you a Welcome-To-Ponyville Party! I never got a chance to throw you one last time!” Pinkie paused, putting a hoof to her chin. “Or wait. Maybe I should throw the Welcome-To-Ponyville Party first, and then throw the Thanks-For-Saving-Us-From-Certain-Death-At-The-Jaws-Of-The-Jabberwock Party. Wait, Maybe--” “Somepony shut her up and help me!” snarled Trixie, writhing about as best she could from within her hempen chrysalis. Pinkie continued to babble, not taking notice of the two stallions as they dragged Trixie out of the wreck. “Watch what you’re doing, you imbeciles!” barked Trixie, “You’re giving me rope burn!” “Hold on a sec,” said Flim, “I’ll be right back.” The cream-colored unicorn disappear in the barn for a moment before returning with an enormous pair of shears. Twilight winced as Flim snapped them open, their finely honed edges gleaming in the morning sun. Trixie grew pale as she laid eyes upon the tool. “W-wait, what are you doing?” she muttered, “You’re not going to--” There was a loud clap as the shears closed, followed by a blood-curdling scream on Trixie’s part. “You’ve killed me!” shrieked the magician, “You idiots killed me! You-” Trixie suddenly opened her eyes to see that her cocoon had been sliced open, and that she hadn’t received a scratch on her during the process. The azure mare’s eyes narrowed as she rose up from the ropes. Without even thanking them she turned and skulked away in sullen silence. Taking advantage of her absence, Twilight quickly stepped in to address the stallions. “I…Don’t really know how I can make you understand how grateful I am for you saving us,” she began unsteadily, “Thank you both.” “Oh, think nothing of it,” said Flim as he placed a hoof on his chest, “It’s part of the FlimFlam philosophy to help those in need.” “Horse-Apples!” Trixie spat from across the yard. The three unicorns ignored her. They instead turned their attention to the mass of debris that now littered the FlimFlam’s lawn. Twilight caught sight of the machine the brothers had flown into battle of the Jabberwock. Mixed feelings of sorrow and fascination flooded her mind as she looked back at the twins with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry about your…invention,” she said, “And about your yard. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to--” “No worries,” said Flam, “We’ll have it rebuilt in a jiffy. Besides, it was us who crashed into you.” The unicorn paused to restyle his mustache. “By the way, what were you three doing up there in the first place?” The beast touched back down to the ground with a thunderous crash, its massive toes digging into the earth as it landed. It lurched forward as its wings furled close, letting out a snarl of discontent. Its thoughts were still of the unnatural thing that had dared to attack it. The fumes from the thing still hung heavy in its nostrils; a repugnant odor of some burnt substance. The beast whipped its neck from side to side, trying to clear its head of the smell. It squawked and continued onward, wondering how much longer until it could return home. “Sound’s like you’ve had yourselves quite an adventure,” Flim said after Twilight finished her story. “I gotta say that’s a very bright idea, looking for clues and all,” added Flam. Twilight smiled. “Thanks,” said the mare, “But we still haven’t found anything yet.” She looked back at the ruined balloon. “And I don’t think we’re going to, now that we’re grounded.” Flim and Flam looked at each other for a moment. They looked over at the barn, and then back to the purple mare. “Say, Twilight,” said Flim, “My brother and I have an idea…”