A War

by Comma Typer

Quick Exit

By Wednesday evening, the old yellow stallion ambled his way to the quiet crossroads, his thinning legs on its way to being coat, skin, and bones.

It was a chilly night, the wind yipping and ripping through, bending the grass—even breaking some blades.

The intersection was a solitary one. There was not another one as far as the eye could see. Some stalls and a taxi station were all that made up whatever habitation was found there. There was not a single house, too—over there, a pony was already sleeping over his display of apples, snoring peacefully with a flimsy canopy over his head.

At the station, some taxi carriages were parked in the mini "parking lot" which consisted of a short stretch of pavement before a little building that boasted of "beds and food 24/7!" at the door. The inside looked a lot like a convenience store where vending machines and small aisles packed with processed food and processed condiments thrived. Baggy-eyed cashiers put on smiles for the burly stallions and the strong mares walking about or in line.

Also, with no wall between it and the "convenience store" part, there was a small bedroom of ten beds and nothing more.

He tugged his green robe as he raised his hoof and squinted. Two figures formed in his vision, standing at the station and beside some carriages.

Two lanky unicorn twins wearing striped shirts, dandy bowties, and straw hats. One was mustached, the other was not.

"Why, welcome back!" Flim said quick, resting his back on a taxi. "Looks like you've put two and two together in your head and formed what you deemed a logical conclusion!"

"As we've agreed to before, your business is on shaky ground," Flam continued, twirling his mustache, "and only a rehauling revamp could revitalize that rewarding industry of yours!"

"Need we say more, Grand Pear?" Flim asked, hoofing the old pony an open scroll and an inked quill.

He grabbed the scroll, read it—eyes bobbing.

"If you have any doubts about the split," Flam added, gesturing about with a hoof, "we need the extra money to further maximize the profits out of this business, and more profit means more mean money for you, grand ol' pa!"

"But, of course, we're not forcing you to come into full agreement," Flim said, wagging a hoof. "Only remember that this is your last chance to get outside help who will bring your farm up and running and rolling!"

Grand Pear skimmed the contract, his eyes darting and dashing.

His eyes rested on that blank line.

"Imagine what you could get if we co-operate, Grand Pear, sir!" Flim said, walking to him and pushing the contract closer. "You'll be back on your four hooves, get the Pear family back together, and have more than enough bits by the end of the year!"

"You'll have no idea what to do with them!" Flam added, walking to him, too, and twirling his mustache again. "You could snag yourself a good home where you could live and work and eat together, and you'll be safe from those treacherous evil ponies who destroy good land!"

"Not to mention that our sources say that you should get to a lucrative business fast before the war gobbles them up!" Flim said, adding a little gasp at the end.

Grand Pear brought the quill closer to the scroll, to the line.

About to say something.

Only a broken sound.

---

The Flim Flam Brothers drove their contraption through the busy city of lights, skyscrapers, and streets.

It was a strange contraption, to say the least. A golden funnel led into a barrel which had a pipe that led to a conveyor belt behind a glass display which led to another barrel (though encased in a glass container connected by wire to some more pipes). The vehicle itself was red, had two big wheels at the center and two small wheels at the back, and had more than enough space at the front for a sofa.

After moving past several large intersections, facing little traffic, they stopped at a big open elevator where more vehicles and ponies stood inside. A crowd looked at it, some snapping pictures of this other contraption.

Flim and Flam nodded at each other.

They drove inside.

The elevator then closed shut.

A peagsus wearing a helmet whistled.

The elevator ascended, carrying with it all the ponies and machines inside higher to the cloudy sky. The thrilled tourists ran to the glass walls, snapping more pictures of the view below where even the highest of high-rises became mere specks and spots diffusing bright lights. The whole city below became lines, straight and curved, of lights.

Past some clouds, and then it stopped.

The elevator opened.

Ponies exited in droves, running and galloping on the cloud bridges that connected floating platforms on which even more skyscrapers and high-rises resided and flourished, their lights even flashier and shinier than the ones back on the ground. Some fountains, many palm trees, two pools, four castle look-a-likes, seven theaters, seven cinemas, nine towers, a ferris wheel, a roller coaster in the distance—this was Las Pegasus, an entertainment center in the clouds.

---

A green glow enveloped the doorknob. It turned and the door opened.

The two brothers stepped into their luxurious living room, filled with splendid objects and gaudy furniture. Red sofas of fine leather, exotic plants in pots and glass boxes, silver arrows and spears on their individual racks, two cracking fireplaces that burned rare wood, watches and chains of bronze and gold on stone columns, huge rugs and mats of sophisticated details and design, paintings of the businessponies themselves smiling smugly as they covered the walls in planned egotistic fervor.

It smelled of oranges.

"Everything's alright, brother?" Flim asked, slapping him on the back of his head.

"Everything's alright, brother!" Flam replied, slapping him on the back of his head.

"Well, you can relax inside," Flim said, stepping out into the fancy hallway of red carpets and landscape paintings. "I'll take a short trip to our arms front."

His horn glowed and he disappeared behind the closed door.

---

Silver Shill, a gray Earth pony with a big pair of glasses, stood in the middle of an aisle in the weapons store. Counters and cupboards stuffed with spears, arrows, and crossbows—these were everywhere. They had various price tags, from a measly two bits to a startling ten thousand.

The glass doors opened, letting in some of the chaotic noise of excited words as ponies galloped and ran here and there in Las Pegaus. "Silver Shill?" Flim called. "May I have a word with you in the back room?"

He gulped, squinching his eyes and nodding in fear. "Y-Yes, sir!"

Flim closed the doors behind him. "Good."

The two walked by the many weapons on display before they reached the counter, went around it, and unlocked the back door.

They entered and Flim locked the door while opening a ceiling light.

Cramped. No chairs but a table. Charts and additional weapons rested inside stacked boxes.

Flim's confident face faltered. "You've got it? The potion?"

Silver Shill gulped again. "Are you sure this is a good idea? If we get caught, we'll go to jail in an instant!"

"If we get caught, and that's the beauty of it," Flim said, putting down his straw hat on the table. "Where is the potion?"

"I stashed it in one of those boxes," he said, pointing to the stacked ones nearby. "I forgot which one it was—"

Flim's horn glowed and he ransacked the place, emptying boxes and littering the table with spears and arrows and papers and secret bags of bits before throwing them away for another batch.

Silver Shill did his best at dodging the boxes, although he was not perfectly successful for he got hit twice.

Then, a glass vial of purple liquid in the air.

"No!"

And Flim held it in the air with a magical grasp, covering the vial in a green glow.

He wiped the sweat off of his face. "That's a close one if I ever saw one!" He turned to a shivering Silver Shill. "Good job! Your part in this new opportunity is over. You can rest easy as I sort out the rest of the details."

Shill shuddered as he opened the door.

"Thank you, my kind sir!"

The unicorn took his hat and walked out of the room.

---

"Ah, sir, you're too kind!" Flim yelped as he received a wrapped gift over the linen-lined table.

Scrumptious food was present, emanating a smorgasbord of cosmopolitan whiffs from garden salads made with fresh (still wet) lettuces, cake topped with melon and kiwi slices, blue cheese cut with a golden knife, and soft crumbly bread steaming; beside them, cocktail bottles that bore foreign-sounding names with glasses crafted to perfection, half-full with colorful mixtures. Beyond the table, there were many others just like it, courted by deluxe chairs cushioned with fabrics of the highest quality; waiters and waitresses were everywhere, ready to be called, asked, and beckoned at a moment's notice.

In this dimly-lit five-star restaurant, Flim was having a wonderful meal.

"I can never be too kind," Brass Blare, a brown unicorn, said as he floated his own wrapped gift into his briefcase before snapping it shut. "You say it's a sample of some kind of super-secret potion you're working on?"

"Be careful," Flim said, pointing at it as he tuned his voice toward caution. "That thing's extremely volatile. It's an experimental version, but I'm sure that I've done more than I could helping your division out in your search for a mind-freeing cure."

"Why, it's much better than my gift of—" and he covered his mouth. "Whoops!" He smiled, blushing. "I wouldn't wanna ruin the surprise!"

"Oh, I don't mind!" Flim said as he picked another lettuce leaf with a levitating fork, dropped it in some honey mustard dressing, and took a bite. He gulped. "But, if you insist..."

Brass Blare sighed. "You're one dependable pony—no, the two of you are dependable ponies. First, you've helped us fund our research into the cure, then you've provided us with specialized facilities, and now you've outdone yourself with your unexpected skills and generosity with what might be the breakthrough, the end of the war!"

Flim laughed at that, leaning on his chair and rocking it. "Ah, yes! I almost forgot about that!" He levitated a glass into the air. "Toast to the end?"

"Toast to the end, indeed!"

The two unicorns raised their glasses and clinked them.

Flim took yet another lettuce leaf dipped in honey mustard.

---

Flim slammed open the door to the living room.

He saw Flam beside a tower of chocolates, sitting on an easy chair as he lobbed yet another bite into his mouth.

"Time to go, brother!" Flim yelled, his voice echoing.

Flam scrambled out of his chair and put on his hat. "You should've given me more warning!"

"Sorry, but I've had it in my mind this whole time."

The two went out of their lavish living room, locked the door, ran the hallway and to the nearest elevator, with Flim repeatedly pressing the ground floor button.

---

Flim and Flam crashed into the train, bringing down several passengers along with them.

The doors closed and the train was moving.

It was another electric train. The seats were on the sides and some ponies held on to the hanging rings. Outside, one could see the remarkable sight of Las Pegasus: two cities in one, a ground and a cloud of lights and fun, with pegasi traveling back and forth in between.

"Ruff!"

"Agh!" Flim screamed, jumping into the air. "An orthos?! Where did you find that?!"

"Oh, uh, I—" and Fluttershy coughed as the rest of them stood up.

"Trade show," Teddie Safari said.

Flam rubbed his long chin, noticing some baggages beside her. "You must be high-tailing it out of here, aren't you?"

Fluttershy nodded. "You see, sirs, if you didn't know, uh, they're creeping up on this place. We don't like to get hurt."

"Neither do we, miss," Flim said, patting her on the shoulder and then patting the orthos on one of his heads.

The dog growled back with both.

"Agh! Again!" Flim retracted his hoof and brisked away from the aggressive creature. "You don't have that thing on a leash?!"

"It's more than dangerous, to be sure!" Flam said as he sat down on a seat beside some ponies who were watching the slight ordeal.

Flim gasped for breath, looking away from the dog and sitting down beside his brother after asking one of the ponies to scooch aside.

Fluttershy and Teddie Safari took up seats opposite them, the orthos content with being on the cold hard floor.

"I think you're in a hurry," Fluttershy said to the brothers across the lane. "Why?"

"Let's say we've received important information," Flim began.

"About something more dangerous than a dog, for your clarification," Flam continued.

"Oh, he's not that nasty," Fluttershy replied, petting the dog as he rolled about on the floor. She looked at him straight in the eye. "You're a good dog, aren't you, boy?"

"But, what's coming?" Safari asked, a bit more alarmed. "Did you leave something behind?"

"Oh, we're definitely leaving something behind," Flim said.

"The reason we cannot exactly disclose, unless you sadly find...out," Flam resumed, drooping his ears a bit.

"You're moving, too?"

"Permanently!" Flim answered. "Because, we've gotten word that—"

"Why are they galloping on the streets?" Fluttershy asked, pointing at the long and wide train window.

Gasps around as everypony inside looked out.

Purple plumes of smoke spread, engulfing.

Inside the carriage: screams, shrieks, shouts, yells, tears, bangs, smacks, a brawl.

"Attention, everypony," a voice proclaimed through the speakers. "This is an emergency. Stay calm as we prepare for full speed ahead."

A whizzing sound rose in pitch.

Sights whizzed by—ponies ditching carriages, partygoers ditching parties and throwing away flying balloons. Pegasi went by in a blur; some unicorns teleported out of the way.

Earth ponies and other unicorns were left to run.

The air further purple.

Panic.

Fluttershy hyperventilated. "What's going on?!"

Ponies running, flying past.

"What's happening?!" a voice cried out.

"I don't know!"

"They're fainting!"

"You don't suppose they're..."

"I told you they were coming!"

"Who said that?!"

"It's a false—"

"We're not going down without a fight! Get me out of here and I'll show 'em!"

"You're insane!"

"No, you're insane! We'll die here when that gas gets to us!"

"I'd like to join in your debate!"

"I don't wanna die!"

"Can this thing get any faster?!"

"Who has an antidote?!"

"This is Vanhoover all over again!"

"They're getting to us!"

Fluttershy could not see past the chaos. Only glimpses of a fuzzy landscape, words and hooves sent flying. She saw Teddie Safari biting her hooves. The orthos whimpered as she patted both heads.

Over the din, over the drowning noise of confusion, she said, "I hope we'll be alright."

The train was at full speed, about to leave Las Pegasus as the purple cloud grew.