Waiting in the dark, I went over my lines again. Nearby, I heard a loud voice penetrate the mumbles and chattering of a waiting crowd.
“Welcome, one and all, to another production of the Flim Flam brothers! I’m Flim.”
“I’m Flam,” joined another voice.
“And we present to you an extraordinary sight never before seen in all of history. A phenomenon that is very much real – no tricks, no illusions, and no strings pulled.”
“Now let me ask you,” said Flam, “is it possible to create life with only the help of magic? Such a feat seems impossible, yes. But what if I were to tell you that it can be done?” Low murmurings from the crowd filled the air, most filled with tones of skepticism. I shuffled in place in the dark. It was almost time.
Flim took over. “Without further ado, we present to you our creation and the star of the show, Marie!” That was my cue.
The curtains parted, flooding my vision with a blinding light. I had to blink a few times until I was able to take in what I saw. The limelight above the stage was focused on me, the intensity of the light heating the air around me. Behind me was a backdrop painted to look like a city at night. In front of me was a large audience of ponies seated at tables and some sitting next to a bar. It mostly consisted of stallions, although some of them can’t seem to sit straight without losing balance. They all stared at me, waiting for me to do something. Music began playing from somewhere. I looked at the side of the makeshift stage towards Flim and Flam. They nodded their heads, urging me to do what I was supposed to do. I took a deep breath and sang.
“I've got no strings to hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings but now I'm free
There are no strings on me
I've got no strings so I have fun
I'm not tied to anyone
How I love my liberty, there are no strings on me!
Hi-ho the me-ri-o, I'm as happy as can be
I want the world to know nothing ever worries me
I've got no strings to hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings but now I'm free
There are no strings on me”
The words flowed out my mouth. I went through the rehearsed movements as I sung, my hooves clacking against the wooden stage. I made sure to sway my hips and swish my tail as I trotted around the stage with a smile on my face. Whistling and hooting filled the room. Stallions ate that up, Flim and Flam told me. I didn’t understand what that meant. I guess stallions are just hungry ponies.
“I've got no strings and I'm so glad
No strings at all to make me sad
I had strings but now I'm free,
There are no strings on me”
If either Flim or Flam told me to dance, I danced. If they wanted me to sing, I sang. “Do this” or “Do that” they would say. Of course, I did whatever they told me to do, no questions asked. “We know what’s good for you,” they told me. If it was good for me, then there was no reason for me to ask questions. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. They’re really nice ponies for them to care about me so much.
“I've got no strings so I have fun
I'm not tied up to anyone
How I love my liberty, there are no strings on me!
No ties to bind me, it's not easy to find me,
'cause I've got no strings on me!”
The song came to an end. All the ponies in the room applauded, clapping their hooves and whistling. Like every show, I gave a bow to the audience. Gold coins were thrown on stage in front of me. Gold coins were good; tomatoes were bad, Flim and Flam told me. The curtains closed in front of me, putting me back in the dark. Standing in the dark, I could hear Flim and Flam again.
“Hoped you enjoyed the show folks,” said Flim, “but that’s all for tonight.”
“But don’t you worry! We’ll be back again, and when we do, be sure to tell all your friends and family and watch another of Marie’s performance!” said Flam.
I felt the floor shake and heard a rumbling behind me. We must be moving again. The stage I stood on was part of a moving machine Flim and Flam made, though they made some changes to it when I first woke up. The machine had the stage in the back and a red sofa at the front. The stage I stood on was just a large box with curtains. It was also my very own room.
“Another great success, brother of mine!” I heard Flim say.
“How’s our little star doing back there?” asked Flam.
I sat down, still left in the dark. “I’m fine.”
It was always like this after every show. I was left on my stage while Flim and Flam went out to spend their gold coins on things. Sometimes, they came back laughing for no reason, usually reeking of something awful. They said I made them very happy. I was glad to make them happy too.
We were now traveling on a bumpy road. I peeked between the curtains of my stage and watched the world around me move by quickly. The moon was high in the night sky. The only sounds heard were the rumbling and whistling of the machine, the snore of one of the brothers, and the occasional chirps of a cricket. I liked to look outside around this time, instead of sleeping; it was filled with a lot of things to look at, like the stars.
We sped by a lot of trees, most of them filled with red apples. I poked my head outside of the curtains to get a better look. I had never seen so many apples in my life! I wonder where we are.
We were on a dirt road that seemed to stretch on for miles behind us. A white fence stood at the side of the road with the apple trees, its paint peeled off here and there. It was rather peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of the city. It was quiet as well as dark, the only light coming from the moon.
For a brief moment, something bright and fast streaked across the dark sky. My eyes widened at the display. I had never seen something like that happen before when I looked at the sky.
What was that? I would have asked Flim and Flam, but one of them was asleep and the other was probably too tired to answer. I squinted as I stared at the sky again, waiting for it to happen. I leaned forward to get closer, hoping to get a better look at whatever it was.
A large bump in the road shook the moving machine. I lost my balance and felt my hind legs lifting off the ground and my front half leaning dangerously forward. I gave a small yelp as I found myself falling from my stage, tumbling on the ground. I landed on my face with my flank in the air and my tail resting on my head. I’m not going to do that again.
I sat down and shook my head to get all the dirt off. Looking around, I found myself on the dirt road. Speeding off in the horizon was the moving machine with Flim and Flam on it.
“Flim! Flam! Wait!” I shouted as I ran after it.
It didn’t stop. I watched as the machine grew smaller in the distance until it was nothing but a speck in the horizon. I slowed to a stop when I realized I couldn’t catch up to them. They left without me… I fidgeted in my spot, my legs moving but not going anywhere. I was stuck in the middle of the road, completely clueless to where I was. Flim and Flam are going to turn back anytime now, and they’re going to find me. Anytime now… Although I waited, there was no sign of them returning.
What was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go? I was lost. I began to trot alongside the fence. I didn’t like being small; everything looked really big… well, bigger than usual. The fence posts were about two or three times my size, and the trees dwarfed me with their size.
Something rustled in the branches. I jumped at the sound. Gathering what courage I had left, I spoke up. “H-hello?”
An owl flew down and perched on the fence post closest to me. It stared at me. “Who?”
“O-oh, my name is Marie…”
It kept its blank stare on me. “Who?” It tilted its head.
“Marie. I’m a singer. Have you heard of me?” I asked.
Again it stared at me, making me uncomfortable. “Who?”
I didn’t like talking to it, so I continued walking down the path. “W-well, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go now.”
“Who?”
I picked up the pace to get away from the owl. I chanced a glance behind me, only to find it turning its head in a way that made it seem impossible and looking at me. My eyes shot forward, and I began to run. If I didn’t think it was creepy before, I certainly did now. Everything seemed much scarier now compared to when I was on the moving stage. Everything looked larger and scarier. I didn’t recognize anything, and sometimes, I thought I saw something move in the corner of my eye, giving me a good reason to gallop faster. I was lost in a completely unfamiliar place.
Oh, where’s Flim and Flam? I really wish they were here right now! I didn’t know how long I ran, but I didn’t stop until I reached a sign. It was a wooden board with a hole shaped like an apple cut in it. I sped under the sign. There were fields of crops, and in the distance, there was a big, red building. Across from it, there were fields of apple trees with baskets placed under the branches. I ran to one of the baskets. I jumped to reach the side of one and pulled with all my weight, tipping it over me. I was shrouded in darkness once again, but at least it served some sort of protection from whatever was out there.
I was shaking uncontrollably, though I wasn't cold or anything. I curled up inside the wooden basket, trying to get comfortable, and waited. With nothing to do, I closed my eyes. The only thing I could do now was sleep and hope Flim and Flam would find me. I sure hope they find me.
~~~~~~~
An alarm clock rang. A red hoof belonging to a stallion reached over and shut it off. Big Macintosh rose up and let out a yawn. It was still dark outside; the sun wouldn’t rise for another hour, but he had to get up early to tend the farm. He sluggishly got out of bed and walked out of his room. A door opened down the hall, revealing his sister, Applejack. She didn’t have her hat on yet, and by the unkempt mess of tangled strands of her mane, she probably just woke up.
“Mornin’ Big Mac,” she said before yawning.
“Mornin’,” he replied back.
She walked into the bathroom, the sound of running water from the shower following soon after. Big Mac made his way downstairs toward the kitchen, his mind set on making some coffee.
Minutes later, he was ready to start the day, now with a cup of coffee in his hoof and a newspaper in his other. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were now awake, the latter fighting off the remnants of sleep as she sat in her chair. Applejack now wore her hat, and her mane didn’t look like she had just gotten out of bed now that it was washed and tied back. Granny Smith walked toward the table they were sitting at with a plate filled with a towering stack of pancakes.
“Now who’s hungry?” she asked with a smile.
Apple Bloom, upon smelling the delicious breakfast, shot up, no longer sleepy. “Oh! I am!”
Granny chuckled. “Alright now. Dig in!”
The three grandchildren didn’t need to be told twice to do so. They each took a few pancakes and coated them with syrup, adding a slice of butter on top of it. As they ate, they made small talk at the table.
“—and then we’re gonna try getting our cutie marks in ventro… ventrili…”
“Ventriloquism?” asked Big Mac.
Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, that!”
Big Mac grinned at her. It was funny how much Apple Bloom acted like Applejack when she was a little filly, always working hard to find her cutie mark. He turned his attention back to his breakfast. The rest of the talk at the table was about the day’s chores on the farms and who was doing what. He was bucking apples today, while Applejack handled the stall in the market and Apple Bloom went to school.
Once Applejack and Apple Bloom had left, he trotted over to the orchard where hundreds of apple trees stood. He went up to the first tree, raised his hind legs, and like a spring coil, kicked the tree with a loud thump, sending all the apples falling into the baskets below. The tree was cleaned of its red fruit, and the baskets were filled to the brim with apples. He took one of the baskets in his teeth and pulled it toward the barn where the apples were stored. However, as he was pulling it, he noticed one of the baskets had been flipped upside down, probably by the wind or a curious critter.
Big Mac set the bushel of apples he was pulling aside and walked up to the overturned container. He turned it over, not expecting to see a wooden puppet lying underneath. It was a beautiful little thing, made to look like a mare. She looked as close to a real pony as a wooden puppet could get. Although, whoever made her painted her eyes closed and seemed to have forgotten to attach strings to her as well as paint her cutie mark. He scratched his head.
A puppet? He looked around, looking for a pony who might have dropped it, but found no one. He picked up the marionette and held it in his hooves. “Now where in Equestria did you come from?”
Seeing how there was no one around, he decided to go back home with the puppet to leave it there with Granny. He carried the wooden mare on his back. Surely, it must have belonged to Apple Bloom or to one of her friends. As he walked back, he could have sworn he heard snoring.