The bus stop that morning was empty. Not a single soul was to be seen except the two friends sitting underneath the shelter. "Why do we have to take the bus again?" Vinyl asked.

"Because the express train is running late and this is the next fastest way" Octavia replied.

"Not much of an express then, is it?"

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Did you pick something nice to wear tonight?"

"Heck yeah!" she exclaimed taking her brown brief-case between her legs. "Check this out!"

"That's alright Vinyl," Octavia said motioning, "I'm sure you picked something appropriate."

"Oh" she said with a bit of disappointment as she put down the suitcase. "Well, I'm glad you trust me for once. Most of the time you seem to act like I'm going to dress like a maniac."

"Your are a maniac," she stated plainly.

"Not true. A real maniac dresses like everyone else, that's why you never see them coming. I'm a decent maniac; I dress crazily so you know what to expect beforehand."

Octavia giggled a bit to herself. "I just want you to look your best. We're going to be before royalty, you know?"

"What is this anyway? A party? 'Cause if it is, I got some kicking jams I've been wanting to try."

"No, it's more like a soiree. It's the royal commemoration of the 'Dance of the Tulips'. It's a get-together for all the elites of Equestria to enjoy the royal gardens and I will be doing a cello performance for the princess." She paused a moment to mediate on those words, inhaling them like the fresh aroma of a sweetly-scented perfume. "A cello performance for the princess!" she squealed excitedly. "What happiness! What sublimity! What passion in the musical..."

"Alright, alright, I got ya," Vinyl said trying to calm her. "Does this gig pay?"

"Goodness no! Just to have the undivided attention of the princess and her entourage is reward enough. This is going to be the greatest night of my life!"

"If you say so, Tavi."

It was at that moment that the bus pulled up to the stop. The bellowing engine roared furiously as a plume of black exhaust shot from its tail. A hiss of the brakes and the behemoth came to a grinding halt. The doors slowly slid open from its place and the two friends gathered their suitcases to board.

As the two climbed the steep steps, they were greeted by an peculiar sight. Sitting behind the wheel was an overweight pony around his mid-forties with a head that was completely bald and his brow looked beaten and heavy with small, beady eyes protruding beneath them. Upon those huge, flabby cheeks was loose scraggly stubble that covered the breadth of his face from ear to ear. With a cigar in the side of his mouth and a gut to challenge any beer-drinker, he lay slouched atop his leather-finished perch like some sort of magnificent captain guiding his ship across a treacherous sea of tar and asphalt.

"How ya' doing?" he said in a gruff voice as Vinyl walked past.

"Sup'" she said passing him.

When Octavia reached the top of the steps of the vehicle the driver stopped her with his big, brawny arm. "Hey, you wanna know something about me?"

"Uh..."

"I've spent my whole life driving buses; ever since I dropped out of high-school. I've been on old-rattler for twenty years. The things I've seen. My father was a bus-driver too. My whole family has lived and died on a bus."

"Bus driving must run in the family," she said meekly.

"Nah," he replied casually, "The rest died trying to wake up my father."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say. "Is there a reason you're telling me this?"

He shrugged "Not really, just got a few minutes before I gotta leave and I just thought I'd strike up a conversation."

"Well, it was very nice meeting you Mr...?"

"Cyrus. Cyrus P. Montague. My friends call me Monty. You can call me Monty."

"Charmed" she said giving a smile, "Now if you'll excuse me, Monty, my friend is probably wondering where I am."

"Anything you say," he said, and Octavia brushed past him to take her place next to Vinyl near the back of the bus.

"What were you and the bus-driver talking about?" she inquired as Octavia sat beside her.

"Oh…um…yeah, he was telling me about the weather. Lovely weather. Best he's seen in years."

"That's really weird, Tavi."

"You don't know the half of it," Octavia mumbled.

The only two passengers sat on the vehicle quietly in their seats and in a few minutes the bus cranked into gear and slowly pulled away from the station and was soon headed on its way to Canterlot. It was a strange thing traveling on the road, as time went on the scenery seemed to go by in a blur. First by the trees of the Everfree Forest, towering in their majestic heights; then through the meadows, pristine and opulent; then over the hills and dales of the rolling farm-land, past the endless greenery of the plains. All of this was naturally unseen by the two friends as they sat comfortably listening to music on Vinyl's portable media player, and also by the driver, who reflected on the news over his two-way radio.

In an hour of traveling they had passed through the better part of Equestria and were on the out-skirts of the great Paradise Desert – a huge expanse of barren rock and sand that covered a vast distance of ground between Equestria Minor, which is Ponyville and it's adjacent territory, and Equestria Major where Canterlot was located. To reach their destination, they would have to embark through the desert.

To watch from the window of the bus and look out the terrain one could easily think that one was on the moon. Harsh and foreboding shadows stood in stark contrast to the plainness of the rock faces which gave it the feeling of some foreboding twilight in the middle of the sweltering day. Many ponies had perished wandering these lands, trying to trek it's endless expanses into the unknown; a fact not dwelt upon much by those inside of an air-conditioned bus.

It happened all of a sudden. A screech of the brakes, a swirling flash, and then loud 'thud' that wracked the entire vehicle and caused both Vinyl and Octavia to spring from their places as the bus came to an abrupt stop. "What was that!?" Octavia yelled.

"I dunno" said Vinyl, "Must have been one doozy of a pot-hole."

Octavia raced to the front to the front of the bus to the bus-driver who looked as cool as ever. "What happened?"

"Hit something." he said relighting his cigar.

"What did you hit!?"

"Something." he said again shrugging. "No idea what it is, all I know is that I have a flat, and sister, we ain't going nowhere now."

"Aren't you going to check!?"

"In a second." he said puffing. "Probably just a rock or something. No biggie."

Octavia took the initiative into her own hoofs and opened the doors of the bus herself, with Vinyl close behind. When the pair peaked around the edge of the bus they were greeted with a horrible sight. There, on the side of the road, was a pony dressed from head to toe in a scarlet Santa-suit, beard and all, laying upon the ground, groaning in agony.

"Oh Fudge!" Vinyl exclaimed as they both ran to help the man.

"Are you alright!?" Octavia said as she held the man's head.

"No." he replied, his voice hoarse and dry "I need a doctor."

"Why are you out in the middle of the desert in a Santa-suit?" Vinyl asked perplexed and shocked.

"I was hit bad by this recession, almost as bad as I was just hit by that bus. I got a job as a mall-Santa in Canterlot. I also have a gambling problem. Had to pawn everything: my house, my belongings, all of my clothes and I had to flee into the desert to escape my creditors. I've been wandering out here for days with only this suit for warmth during the freezing night."

Vinyl and Octavia stood in shock at the surreal image that was unfolding before them. It was also at that time that the bus-driver decided to come out of the bus to see what all the commotion was about. When he gazed upon the sight that the two ponies had just witnessed he didn't say a word. He stared with a straight face, unwavering as the cigar dropped from his mouth and landed in the sand below him. He took his hat from head and discarded it as well, and slowly started walking down the lone highway.

As Vinyl helped the man, Octavia noticed the bus-driver slowly shrinking into the distance and chased after him. "Hey uh...Monty! Where are you going?"

"I'm washed up kid." he said, "There's no place for me now. This will be my third referral. I'm finished."

"But you can't just leave us out here!" He didn't say another word, merely bowed his head continued walking until he was merely a dot on the horizon and then disappeared.

Octavia walked back to Vinyl, who know had the man propped beneath the shade of a rather large rock protruding at a precarious angle from the ground. "Where's the bus-driver?"

"He's gone."

"Where?"

"He uh...said he was going for help. Yeah..."

"But he has a radio is in the bus, and it was working fine. Couldn't he have just used that?"

"Okay...fine! He's gone!"

"Gone?"

"Gone!"

"Gone where?"

"Celestia knows where, but he wasn't staying."

"What are you saying Tavi?"

"I'm saying we're stuck out here in the middle of Paradise! With no transportation and an unconscious mall-Santa with a gambling problem!" Octavia suddenly became overwhelmed with a tidal-wave of emotions. She felt light headed as the thought of being late to the concert raced through her mind. Her chance of impressing the princess was evaporating before her eyes like the water in the harsh desert around and there was nothing she could to do to stop it. She swooned and then collapsed next to the bus and bawled her head into arms which were propped on her knees. "This is not what I wanted at all!"

Vinyl approached her friend and sat beside her as she silently wept. "Tavi." she said whispered gently.

"No" she groaned, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Tavi." she said again, "It'll get better."

"No it won't!" she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yes it will," she replied shushing her. "It will get better. You'll see."

Octavia blew her nose in a handkerchief she produced from her pocket. "I don't see how."

"You can't with those tears in your eyes," she said smiling.

Octavia sniveled a bit at Vinyl wiped away some of the tears. "I guess...you're right."

"Course I am. You'll see. It's gonna be alright. At least we left early right?"

"Yeah..." she said brushing away more tears, "But I don't think we're going to make it before it's time, and I wanted to show you the museum too."

"The museum will always be there. We just have to think positive."

"Oh Vinyl, that's a nice thought, but I don't think the answer to our problems is just going to come flying out of the blue."

It was then that a strange thing occurred. "What is that?" Vinyl said squinting.

From out of the blue, beyond the clouds, a strange bird-like creature seemed to be descending to earth. As it drew closer, it became clear that it wasn't a bird at all, but some sort of contraption with two winged propellers mounted on fixtures above a large canvased wing,which were being propelled by two ponies on a row of four bicycle seats. "What ho, brother of mine! It seems like we've come across some ponies in distress! Shall we lower to get a closer look?"

"By all means brother!"

With that the great machine fell in altitude and gracefully landed next to the bus and the two vanilla colored ponies dismounted. "You ponies look like you're in a jam." the mustachioed pony said.

"Hey..." Octavia said getting up, "I know you two...you're the traveling sales-ponies who sold that dreck cider!"

"Uh uh uh, former sales-ponies," the clean-shaven one corrected.

Vinyl interrupted him, "Wait, so who are you guys?"

"He's Flim!"

"He's Flam!"

"We're the world famous Flim-Flam brothers!" they said together.

"More like infamous," Octavia mumbled to herself.

"Nice to make you acquaintance." Flam said garbing Vinyl's hoof and gently kissing it, "But the honor is all mine."

Vinyl blushed, "These guys aren't half bad."

"Don't listen to them, they're nothing but a bunch of con-men." Octavia warned.

"Au contraire," Flim said "You do us a great injustice madam. An injustice that fails to grasp the breadth and genius of our endeavors."

"So what is this thing?" Vinyl asked.

"Ah! You must mean this fine piece of engineering that stands behind us." Flam said, "Let me introduce you to our latest and greatest invention: The Flim-Flam Flier!"

"Yes," Flim stepped in, "After our little cider debacle went down the proverbial tube, so to speak, we decided to pursue the problem which has vexed earth-ponies since to immemorial: how to fly without wings. After months of tinkering and designs we finally invented this machine that will allow you to fly. A flying machine!"

"I like it call it an aeroplane." Flam chimed in.

"Using a minimum power of two horses (or horsepower as well like to call it), one can levitate oneself into the air like any pegasus or bird." Flim continued, "We intend to patent this fine machine and sell it to all ponies! We're going to change history!"

"So this works?" Vinyl asked curiously.

"Works?" Flam asked slighty aghast."It doesn't just work, it flies!"

"Perhaps you two fine ponies would care to join us on our way to Canterlot?"

It was then that Vinyl pulled Octavia aside and whispered to her. "See? The answer to our problem's is right here!"

"I don't know." Octavia said eying them, "I don't trust them."

"They're our only way out of this place."

"But they're con-men! Thieving rascals! No telling what they will do!"

"You're the one who wanted to go to Canterlot!"

"But not with them!"

Flim cleared his throat. "If you want to stay here, that's also fine. We just thought we'd lend a helping hand."

"No, we'll come, won't we Octavia?" Vinyl said nudging her.

"Yeah, I guess." Octavia said.

"But we do have him to worry about." Vinyl said pointing to the nearly unconscious mall-Santa.

"Good lord!" Flam exclaimed, "What happened to him?"

"We accidentally ran him over," Octavia said.

"You?"

"Well, the bus-driver."

"And where is he?"

"Who knows, he started walking."

"Well that sounds dreadful," Flim said.

"He needs medical attention." Octavia stated.

"Well, we'll have to get him some then,won't we? We can lay him across the wing-span, though it will take all four of us to carry the weight."

"Vinyl," Octavia said nudging her, "See if you get him up a bit so we can load him."

Vinyl approached the man underneath the rock. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"We're going to get you help."

"Oh thank sweet Celestia."

"We're going to take you back to Canterlot-"

"No!" he yelled furiously, "I can't go back! Never go back! I'll be a dead man for sure!"

"Why?" Vinyl asked not comprehending his delirium.

"My creditors! They'll kill me! I'm not going back!"

"But you have to come back, you'll die out here if you don't."

"No! I can't go back! Never!" He started shaking violently.

Vinyl returned to the group by the bus, "He say's he won't go."

"What do you mean?" Octavia said cocking her eyebrow.

"He won't, he fears for his own life. Says there are people who would want to kill him."

"The old boy's delirious." Flam said.

"Quite," Flim stated, "But being out in the desert in a Santa-suit would do that to anyone, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so." Octavia said.

"There's only one solution for this. Flam, do you have the Spider?"

"I do indeed."

"Hand it here please."

Flam went back to the flier and brought back a cast-iron frying-pan. "Ah, good. Nothing to sedate you like mother's cooking."

"If only she was that good of a cook."

They both chortled loudly as Flim proceeded to walk toward the man near the rock.

"Wait, you're not going to hurt him are you?" Vinyl asked.

"You two should gather your belongings," Flam said motioning to them.

"Alright then." Vinyl said, "What about him?"

"My brother has it under control." At that time a loud 'clang' was heard and then a thud.

"He's sedated!" Flim announced proudly.

"Good brother," Flam said walking to him and grabbing the now unconscious man's legs, "Let's get him on board. There's a good-chap."

In the meantime, Octavia and Vinyl took their placed in the front seats of the flier, their hoofs on the bars and pedals as the brothers mounted the man on the wings and secured him with rope. "There!" Flim said tying the knot firmly, "That ought to hold him."

The two mounted in the rear two bicycles, with Flim manning the ruder to guide the great machine.

"Are you ponies ready for take-off?" Flam said. The two friends nodded their heads. "Alright then, on the count of three, pedal as hard as you can. Ready? One, two, three!"

With that the ponies pushed all their strength into it, pedaling as fast as they could. Soon the propellers started to whir and the machine began to move. "It's working Tavi!" Vinyl yelled over the roar of the air.

"I know!" Octavia said laughing.

In a few moments the great machine had raced down the pavement and had lifted into the air, and soon the ponies were soon flying on their way to Canterlot.