Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

5.4--Flim Flam vs. Sandwich

Once he took a bow and let the group on guitars take the stage, Cheese waltzed over to the nearest bench to sit down and catch his breath. He set Boneless 2 down next to him, pulled out his canteen, and guzzled down his water. Smacking his lips and wiping sweat off his brow, he noted that the sun had reached its zenith, and dare he say that it was not being kind. Not only was he sweating, but he could see the better part of the party's attendants getting themselves wet in any way they could. Standing near the splash zones of the roller coaster, dunking themselves in the plaza's water fountain--though some got confused and jumped into either the chocolate or cheese fountains--calls to go to the beach, setting off Comedy Gold's water balloon tripwires, and even bringing kiddie pools from their homes.

"I wonder if Princess Celestia ever receives complaints about the sun being too hot?" he muttered. He held up his rubber chicken and squeaked, "'I'd like to formally request the Princess to turn the sun's heat down'."

It wasn't long before Tomato came and sat down next to him, sighing loudly and leaning into his hooves. Cheese glanced at him, noticed that he was still wearing the jacket, and said, "Tommy, take your jacket off. It's hot."

Tomato didn't even look at him. "I noticed."

"I don't want you getting heat stroke." Cheese leaned over and quickled swiped the brown jacket off of Tomato, leaving the buttoned shirt on. "You really should have chosen a short sleeve shirt, to be honest."

"Hm, thanks."

Cheese blinked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Cheese scooted toward him, and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Look, you don't need to be afraid to just talk to me. Can't keep your feelings pent up forever, you know? Besides, no concern of yours is too trivial or ridiculous for me to ignore, am I right?"

Tomato whickered, his nose pointing to the circus train. His eyes followed the pony cartwheeling on the clouds. "...it's nothing."

Cheese looked in that direction. "Does the circus bug you? Because you know..." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "...clowns."

Tomato snarled. "They better stay over there and not get in my face again. Besides... ugh, it's nothing."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the Flim Flam brothers lying and this thing being a hoax like Silver Shill said, are you?"

Tomato sighed. "Even if it is a hoax... it doesn't really seem like they're doing any harm. They are just entertaining ponies."

"There may be an angry mob if they're exposed. Ponies generally don't like being lied to."

Tomato blew on his forelock, and watched Miss Whiskers bemoaning some sort of plight about an orphanage she grew up in, earning her some charitable donations. "Especially when money is involved..." He started to play with his cheeks, rubbing with his hooves in circular motions just to get a feel of his own face. "Doesn't feel like a baby face..."

Cheese tilted his head. "Huh?"

Before the matter could press on further, Silver Shill skidded to a stop in front of them, his back to them. His eyes were wide and dashing to every place in the square, his legs were trembling, and he was gnawing at his hoof. His chest was visibly heaving, and he was sweating like crazy.

"Hey, Silver, what's going on?" Cheese asked.

Silver whirled around and yammered, "Oh, man, I can't find Goldie anywhere! She's not here, she's not at home, she's not at the park, she's not at the beach, she's not at that weird toy store she likes, she's not anywhere! Oh, man, if she strains herself while still recovering, I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself!"

"Whoa, there," Tomato said. "Calm down, panicking won't get you anywhere."

"I know that!" Silver snapped.

Cheese glanced at Tomato. "Hey, now, Tommy, I reacted the same way whenever you wandered off when we were colts." He hopped off the bench and stood up tall. "Besides, I can sense other party ponies. In fact, I sense her over there."

Silver turned to see that Cheese was pointing to the circus train, where true to form, that cream-colored, strawberry blonde mare was hanging out near the engine. The shorter stallion breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow.

"Oh, thank goodness. Say, what is she doing--"

BOOM!

The alarmed crowd let out a cacophony of yelps, screams, and shouts in response to the exploding engine, while Goldie stumbled back in response to the sudden gushing smoke. She looked right and left as if she didn't know what to do.

Silver's jaw dropped, and then he yelled, "Goldie!"

Goldie turned her head to see him, and then she dashed off to behind the train in a panic. Silver took off running in pursuit, and after giving each other uneasy looks, both Cheese--after flinging Boneless 2 onto his back--and Tomato followed.

Once they reached behind the train, they were surprised to find that the Flim Flam brothers had already caught her with their magic. They were behaving rather coolly with her, merely shaking their heads in disappointment.

"For shame, Miss Gold... for shame," Flim said. "To think we thought that you were so sweet and innocent."

"I had always heard that party ponies were honorable," Flam said. "Nopony considers sabotage to be honorable."

They glanced at Silver Shill, who was hanging his jaw in disbelief. Flim turned to him and said, "Oh, Shilly... I'm so sorry you had to see this--but your sister decided to bust up our engine out of pure envy."

"Envy?" Silver repeated.

"Envy!" Flam exclaimed. "And now that our engine is busted up, we cannot chug this train to the next town."

"And well, we all know that fixing it costs money, so, it'd be nice if you could pay for reparations," Flim said, idly examining his hoof.

Silver gulped. "Flim, Flam, I'm really sorry about Goldie doing that to you--really, I am. But, the thing is... we're still paying off her hospital bill, and I don't think we have enough to even pay for repairs. Money's been tight ever since our father died."

Flim clicked his tongue. "Justice doesn't take pity on those bereaved of a parent. Either you pay for the repairs with approximately... 500 bits, or your sister here would just have to work for us in order to replace those profits we spend on a repairpony."

"Flim, Flam, she's not fully recovered from her surgery!"

Flam stroked his mustache. "She should have thought of that before attacking us like that."

Flim strode forward, put himself beside Silver, and patted his back. "Don't worry, Shilly, we'll take good care of her, and she'll only work minor jobs until she can do... party pony stuff."

Silver and Goldie looked at each other. The latter looked guilty to the point of tears, and after staring at him with big blue eyes for a few moments, she turned away. The former, while initially showing sorrowful concern on his face, slowly narrowed his eyes, put a hoof to his mouth, and tilted his head.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cheese exclaimed. "Excuse me, but... are you seriously telling us that you're enslaving her?"

"There's a difference between slavery and working off a debt, Mr. Sandwich," Flam said.

"I just--I, uh--look, maybe I could fix your engine."

Flim laughed. "An engine is different from an accordion."

Cheese gave them a half-lidded stare. "I have a party tank--I have to know how to maintain it."

"Doesn't mean you know how to fix a train engine."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a standard train engine, considering the way this thing's built, but, hey, I've picked up on fixing things over the years--I took a few lessons when I was a teenager. Trust me on this--I fix the engine for free, you don't lose any money, Silver and his family don't go a step backward in paying that hospital bill, and I'm sure they'll figure out a way to punish Goldie for her mischief without having to lose her." Cheese clapped and grinned. "Everypony wins! Right, Boneless 2?"

The rubber chicken flopped onto the ground.

Flam scoffed. "The punishment still has to fit the crime. Besides, nothing is free, Cheese Sandwich. Just how do you set these parties up without it being costly?"

Tomato stepped forward. "For crying out loud, just take his offer. It's the best option for all parties here. There's no reason for you to refuse it... unless you're just using this as an excuse to add a party pony to your troupe, because after all, aren't they ponies with bizarre powers, that are perfect for a circus? Sounds like she'd be very profitable, huh?"

The Flim Flam Brothers turned to him. Flim then said, "There's nothing wrong with her being profitable, you should know that! I suppose we were right about you... you're just a naive colt just dressing up as an adult just so he could be taken seriously. You still have a lot to learn..."

Tomato ground his teeth. "I have nothing against her being profitable--I'm against how you're planning to extort her. And I am an adult! You know nothing about me!"

They ignored him, and turned to Silver. Flam tousled his mane and said, "She needs to spread her wings and fly, Shilly! Fierce loudmouth she may be, but with us, we promise that she'll bloom into something extraordinary!"

Silver huffed and glanced at Goldie once again. "Doesn't change the fact that you're trying to justify kidnapping her."

"It's not kidnapping if we're discussing it," Flim said.

"Look," Cheese said, picking up Boneless 2 and slinging him back on his back. "I get that she should be held accountable for her actions--but party pony powers aren't meant to be used for profit. The fact that you're refusing my offer so that you could use her against her will to earn a quick bit--while she's still healing, mind you--doesn't sit well with me. I'm surprised she's not disputing it!"

"We're magicking her mouth shut."

"What?!" Silver shouted.

Flam twirled his mustache. "So... are you going to fight us over this?"

Cheese shook his head. "No, I'm not interested in a fight."

"Not even a music fight?"

"I like music... but, not fighting."

Flim chuckled. "What's the matter, Cheesy... chicken?"

Cheese raised an eyebrow. "I've already got one." He turned to show them Boneless 2. "See?"

"Nice looking chicken it is. Say, his name is Boneless, right?"

Cheese pursed his lips. "Technically, it's Boneless 2, Boneless sacrificed himself in order to save Equestria."

Silver looked to Tomato for clarification of that statement, but Tomato raised his hoof and gave him a look that said 'don't ask.'

Flam nudged his brother. "I wonder if Cheese Sandwich is as 'boneless' as his chicken."

Cheese frowned. "What did you call me?"

"Oh, nothing, just a little something suggesting that you don't have a spine."

Flim snickered. "Or a skeleton for that matter."

As the twins laughed, Cheese's face fell into a stony glare, and he growled, "Nopony calls me boneless! You want your music battle? I'll give you a music battle!"

Silver looked at him. "Cheese, it's two against one! That's hardly fair!"

"Silver Shill is right!" Flim gasped. With a smirk and a glance at Goldie, he said, "Why don't we make things interesting, and make it a battle of duets? The Flim Flam brothers versus Cheese Sandwich and..."

Cheese stretched his front leg to the side, and drew Tomato close to him. "Tomato Sandwich."

Tomato's eyes widened. "Wait, what?!"

"Flim Flam Brothers versus Sandwich Brothers, I see," Flam said. "Winner decides the fate of Comedy Gold."

---

Both parties prepared for the music battle later that afternoon. Sitting in the shade of the pirate ship pizza parlor, where Cheese Sandwich tuned his accordion and sang a few practice notes, the other member of the Sandwich party was clearly not happy with the turn of events. In fact, he expressed his displeasure by smacking his brother on the back of the head.

"How could you drag me into this?!" Tomato snapped, leaping to his hooves and pacing back and forth. "You know I don't like singing in public!"

Cheese rubbed where Tomato hit him. "We agreed it was going to be a duet battle--and quite frankly, you're my only option."

"You didn't ask Silver Shill if he could sing!" Tomato pulled at his mane. "This is his sister we're fighting for! Why'd you agree to a duet battle? You can defeat them on your own!"

Cheese blinked and chuckled. "I'm really flattered you think that."

"Yes, I do." Tomato smoothed down his mane. "And I'll only hold you back."

"Now how can a stallion with a great singing voice hold me back?" Cheese leapt to his hooves and pulled Tomato to his side. "When the Sandwich voices combine, the Flim Flam brothers won't stand a chance!"

Cheese then sat back down, and played a few practice notes. "Heck, I bet you could defeat them on your own if you wanted to."

Tomato sat down, wishing that they were sitting on grass instead of cobblestone. Still, he bore it, and he turned to the circus train on the other side of the square. He stared at it, shaking his head at the cage Goldie was put in to prevent her from causing more mischief, or so it was claimed. He wondered what the Flim Flams' game plan was, especially against Cheese Sandwich.

And even though Cheese was confident in him, Tomato worried about being nothing but an obstacle.

---

In an open space in the square, all the party's attendants were watching from nearly every corner. Some watched from the pirate ship, some from the fountains, some from the tops of houses, and many others stood in a large circle around the two duos. Both sets of brothers stretched their muscles, and made sure their throats were clear and their voices were working. The Flim Flam brothers made sure their dress was clean, and Flam groomed his mustache. Cheese made sure his accordion was in tip top shape, while Tomato was busy looking at the large crowd that was gathered, edging closer to Cheese for comfort.

Silver Shill sat next to the cage that Comedy Gold sat in, watching from the train. After a brief glance at the competitors, he looked at Goldie and said, "Funny thing that you have four stallions fighting over you, and none of it is romantic. Hardly happens, am I right?"

Goldie didn't answer, staring straight ahead.

Silver pouted, and leaned against the cage. "Goldie, this may be our last chance to talk, and your mouth isn't magicked shut this time."

There was still silence.

Silver sighed. "Remember the day we earned our cutie marks? You know, how you took charge and made changes to the school carnival because it had a reputation of being boring? And how I had to work hard to convince everypony that it was different that year? Hehe, yeah, it was a blast. I especially liked the Chocolate Dolphin Slippery Dandy."

"The what?" Goldie said, with a completely different voice from before. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth.

Silver laughed. "Caught ya. And from the looks of the attendance of the other freaks..." Silver leaned over to count the members of the troupe. "...looks like you're either one of the clowns or that unicorn magician. Snake Shiner, am I right?"

'Goldie' snorted and growled, "I think that guy's taking a nap again... and the name's Silk Shimmer!" Then, realizing her mistake, the disguised Silk did a facehoof. "D'oh... ugh, how'd you know?"

"I'm Goldie's brother. Okay, you, where is she?"

Silk sighed. "In the train, asleep because of a knockout spray. So... what part of her did I get wrong?"

"Frankly, you were acting too passive to be her. She's a fiery and stubborn mare."

"Mmm, true... she did hit me with a frying pan."

"She what?"

"Shush, the battle's about to start!"

Silver went quiet, and watched as the scene before them unfolded. The Flim Flams and the Sandwiches had finished their stretching, and looked around. Then, Flim stood up on his hind legs and started to address the crowd.

"Welcome, welcome, ponies, to our grand music battle!" Flim announced with gusto. He was back on all fours. "We present to you the clash of the musical talents of the Sandwich Brothers and the Flim Flam Brothers. I suppose you're wondering what the point of this match is, and why we musicians have to fight. Well, we had a little dispute about what should be done about our little saboteur..."

Flam joined in with, "And thus, we're settling our argument. But not to worry, it's all in good fun! Anything to entertain you ponies, am I right?"

"And it's an honor to go toe-to-toe with the amazing and hilarious Cheese Sandwich... aaand that brother of his that I forgot the name of."

"Hey!" Tomato snapped.

"His name's Tomato, brother of mine," Flam reminded.

Flim laughed and smacked his forehead. "My mistake then! Well, then, if you folks are booing anypony during the match, don't throw him."

Tomato leaned over to Cheese and whispered, "Why are they so intent on getting on my nerves?"

Flim continued, "And now... it's time to list off the rules....

Each verse from one side needs to be matched by the other
At least one line has to be sung by each brother."

Flam joined in with,

"Both siblings have to be equal, have to be in sync
If one does all the work, what would all these ponies think?"

Cheese stepped forward, and sang,

"I can accept those rules, I can say that they seem fair
My baby bro and I will certainly treat them with care."

Tomato gulped, and added,

"And now that we've got that covered, let this battle begin
Sandwiches vs. Flim Flams... let's see who will win..."

Tomato jumped upon hearing the music's sudden swelling, and looked around at the crowd starting to bounce. Glancing back at Cheese getting ready to start playing his accordion, he wiped sweat off his brow and quietly tried to bid his racing heart to slow back down to it's regular, steady beat.

Flim and Flam marched forward, smug looks on their faces. Flim opened his mouth and sang:

"Entertainment is a delicate art
You never know just what'll hit their hearts"

Flam then added, looking straight at Tomato:

"An audience can sense the slightest bit of stage fright
And you better pray hard that things will turn out all right."

A grand gesture of the hooves toward the Sandwiches indicated their turn, and Cheese didn't hesitate to use his tail to spring himself into the air. While in midair, Cheese started to play his accordion.

"A creative use of talent can go a long way
It's great when ponies want to hear you sing every day!"

Cheese landed next to Tomato, and nudged him. The latter pulled at his collar, and cleared his throat.

"Wh-when all is said and done, and when you celebrate
Be sure that you didn't serve all that's on your plate."

Tomato breathed a sigh of relief, glad his turn was over. He glanced at the crowd, who seemed a little confused at Tomato's choice of words. It didn't help that Cheese commented, "I don't think they quite got your metaphor."

Flim and Flam chuckled, and sang together.

"They say two is better than one
That it is double the fun
After all, isn't that what siblings are for?

But consider it a test
When you have to sing a duet
As a team effort, not your own little war!"

Silk put a hoof to her mouth. "I come from a family of three."

"I'm the third of four," Silver replied.

Cheese was now circling the Flim Flams while rolling a cheese wheel, a baffled and terrified Tomato sitting on his shoulders and clinging to his head. With a grin and a wink toward the confused twins, he sang:

"Tommy and I don't have to be twins
To be a super duper team!
A three-year gap isn't really that much
For two brothers who can open up and sing!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Tomato added,

"Cheese alone bears a load of talent
Quite useful considering the job he does
I would say that he doesn't really need me
To get this crowd abuzz."

The crowd was starting to cheer, stomping in applause for the scene in front of them. Tomato's eyes were squeezed tighter, and he cursed under his breath about being reminded that there was an audience. Even with his jacket off, Tomato's coat was already growing damp with sweat.

Flim and Flam just watched the cheese wheel circle them, and just glanced at each other. Flim looked up at the stallion rolling it.

"My, my, my, what an interesting trick
I do wonder where that cheese wheel came from."

Flam then added,

"I must agree that it is very impressive
And I hope that up there they're both having fun."

Cheese then jumped and kicked the cheese wheel onto its side, and landed on it to use it as a stage to dance on. Once Cheese reached the ground, the shock of the impact made Tomato release Cheese's head and fall flat on his back, muttering an "Ow...". This went unnoticed by Cheese as he sang,

"Well, what can I say? I strive to be fun
And to make my parties great for everyone
From the very moment I earned my cutie mark
Making others happy is how I do my part!"

Cheese gestured to the still-aching Tomato, making minor twitches to tell him that it was his turn. Upon noticing, Tomato stood up, brushed himself off, and cleared his throat again.

"Well, I, um, I just sing sparingly
It's not really a talent I like to flaunt, you see
I guess I'm good, at least that's what I've been told
But because my brother asked--"

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a tannish-yellow form topped with red-orange. He turned to it, and for a moment, there stood his mother, looking on disapprovingly at both her sons. She especially glared at Tomato, and shaking her head, she said, "Do I see a music note on that flank?"

Tomato's tail instinctively covered his flank, and he could feel a lump in his throat. Just what was he doing?

That was when Cheese shouted, "Tomato!"

"Eek! Potato casserole!"

Everything went silent for a moment as they processed what he sang. And then, the crowd burst out laughing, as did the Flim Flam Brothers. At the sound of the laughter, Cheese grimaced and put a hoof to his face, while Tomato flushed beet red. He looked at the very same spot where Mom had been standing, but she had disappeared.

From their place near the train, Silver Shill and the still-disguised Silk Shimmer watched the screw up in disbelief. Silk put a hoof to her mouth, while Silver cringed. The former turned to the latter and said, "Well, that can't be a good sign."

Silver pursed his lips and gazed at the ground. "I just hope it's a little hiccup in their performance. I mean... they can't lose!" Then he turned to her once again. "You know, you're a nice and very talented mare... why are you working for them?"

Silk sighed. "Well... I was promised more exposure, and told me that I'd be big enough to take on the Mystical Master of Magic, Kazam. And, well, since the guy's my older brother and thinks he's better than me, I just want to show him what I'm made of and have him take me seriously! And from joining them, they got me involved in faking freaks of nature so they could run a mini-circus. Sure, we're lying, but it can't be that bad."

"Silk... I've worked for them, and I've thought the exact same thing. But I learned that a little white lie can snowball into a disaster. I mean, an old mare nearly killed herself because she thought the miracle tonic we were selling made her invincible. Sure, your circus seems like harmless entertainment... but do you really want to be involved in a kidnapping? Just so Flim and Flam can profit off of a party pony?"

Silk grimaced. "Well... when you put it that way..."

Back in the square, the crowd ceased their laughing, as did the Flim Flams, who climbed onto the cheese stage. Flim stepped forward and crooned,

"Well, Tomato, I will admit
That was a close one
You're lucky that lyrics don't matter in this fight
Or else you and Cheese would have been done."

Flam then added,

"I cannot imagine how embarrassing that was
To say something random like that
And be the target of mocking laughter
For a verse that clearly fell flat."

Cheese huffed.

"I assure you all that he won't do that again
We all make mistakes, no need to fret,"

He glanced at Tomato, and noticed that he was sweating. Silently cursing the heat, he added,

"It's probably just the heat getting to his head..."

In one swift motion, Cheese grabbed his brother, sped to the nearest building, and set off one of Goldie's balloon tripwires. Almost instantly, water balloons exploded on their heads, and they were soaked in less than ten seconds.

"Ta-da! Now we're all wet!"

Dripping wet and shivering, Tomato couldn't help but hear the phantoms of the laughter earlier, and the lump in his throat swelled. He wondered if anyone would notice if he was crying, but realizing that it would be undignified and a haunting memory about how funny it was when he cried made him hold back. Plus, that would make them lose the battle. So, he swallowed the lump, and shakily sang,

"Well... uh... at least my mistake rhymed
And that all of you are really having a good time,"

He took a deep breath, and marched on forward, holding his composure. He had to remember why he was doing this. He was going to help his brother win this. He was going to help Comedy Gold out of her jam. He was going to show them all that he was more than the narrow definition of his cutie mark that his mother had put upon him. He stood steadfast and looked the Flim Flams in the eyes.

"But we won't be beaten, you cannot bring us down
We'll show you what we're made of, and--"

That was when a clown came onto the scene with a bag of peanuts, and looked around, and stared straight at Tomato with tired, soulless eyes. "Hey... I take a nap and you guys are all singing? Geez, you're all rude."

Panic surged within Tomato, and he bolted off into the other direction. "Oh, Celestia, not a clown!"

Cheese's jaw was slack as he gaped at the scene before him. Then he shook his head and yelled, "Of all the times for something like that to happen, it had to be now?!" With a groan, he started to chase Tomato, shouting, "Tommy! We're not done yet!"

Flim and Flam laughed. The former clutched his stomach and said, "I didn't see that one coming!"

The latter replied, "Pfft, who would have thought he was afraid of clowns?"

Cheese ambled back to the cheese stage, dragging a chocolate-covered Tomato by the tail and grumbling about the lousy random luck that was the clown. He shot a glare at said clown, and the clown understood the silent threat that Cheese was sending him and ran off. Then he looked up at the Flim Flams.

With a chuckle, Flim sang,

"Forgive us for our tired clown
But the fella does need his sleep."

Flam added,

"We opted not to wake him up
Since when he's tired he gives ponies the creeps."

Cheese snorted.

"Well now since that's all done and over with
We can get back to business..."

He looked at Tomato, who was now sitting up and gazing fearfully at the crowd. Here he was, sitting in the middle of a street, covered in chocolate due to trying to hide in a certain fountain. He could see them all grinning and snickering at him, presumably from the three things from the last several minutes being very silly. And downright embarrassing.

He looked down at the ground, cursing himself for doing something outside of his cutie mark. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that he could just disappear.

"I... I... I can't."

Cheese's face fell, and he grabbed Tomato by the front leg. "Yes, you can, Tomato! After all, aren't we a team?" He tried to lift him to his hooves, but to no avail. "Come on, I know you have it in you! Why are you giving up?"

Tomato slid his foreleg out of Cheese's grasp. "Because I'm a burden, that's why!"

Cheese stepped back in surprise of Tomato's sharp voice. Cheese kept gazing at him, even when Tomato turned away, buried his face in his hooves and muttered, "Just bury me so I can suffocate in the ground..."

Cheese jumped at the sound of Flim and Flam laughing. When he turned to face them, Flim said, "Well, that sounds like we won, don't you think, brother of mine?"

Flam nodded. "And thus, we'll have Comedy Gold work off her debt to us for busting up our engine."

Cheese didn't show it, but he could feel his blood boil. The option he had presented was perfectly fine, especially since if his parties were free despite using things normally high cost, his fixing of the engine would be as well. The mere fact that they refused so that they could have an excuse to force a party pony to join them was making him want to hit them over the head with a crowbar. He even went through a music battle against them to convince them, and he lost. All because Tomato couldn't get a grip.

Flim and Flam opened up the cage, and let 'Goldie' jump out. She glanced at Silver Shill, who seemed unusually calm considering the circumstances. So, she looked up, and listened to what they had to say.

Flim started with, "Now, now, Comedy Gold, I know you must be scared to be leaving home like this. But, I assure you, we're not bad ponies, and we'll treat you kindly. You'll be encouraged to do your best during your time with us."

Flam added, "Imagine all the places that you'll see! The ponies that you'll meet! All the attention that a pony could ever want! Why, we'll make sure you'll become a bigger party pony than Cheese Sandwich over there!"

Then they looked at Silver Shill. Flim put a hoof to his chest and said, "We still assure that there are no hard feelings from when we last met. All we ask is that you're strong enough to let her go and spread her wings."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you let her speak for herself? Or is Silk Shimmer going to be talking for her?"

Both twins' eyes widened when they heard that. Pulling at his collar, Flim said, "Whatever do you mean, Shilly? Why would Silk Shimmer--"

That was when 'Goldie' spoke up. "Because I'm not Comedy Gold!" She pushed aside the Flim Flam Brothers with telekinesis, and then marched to the middle of the square. There, she let her disguise fade away to reveal her horn, white coat, blue and lavender streaked hair, and her magician's hat and outfit. Then, she said, "I'm Silk Shimmer."

The crowd gasped, and Cheese gaped at the reveal. Tomato was glancing over his shoulder, just as surprised at the event. Everypony started to murmur, wondering where she was going with this.

Her horn glowed, and from the engine came what looked like two small balls of yarn. "The engine isn't broken--I was just putting a couple of my smoke machines in there to frame Goldie for sabotage. She never really sabotaged us--she tried and failed to do so by hitting me with a frying pan. And I still have the bump...

"Yes, Flim and Flam were faking this whole thing so that they could add a party pony to the troupe. After all, party ponies are some of the strangest and most amazing ponies in Equestria--I should know, my younger brother is one. And if he was the one in this situation, I'd be just as upset as Silver Shill is. And... well... let's just say... I quit!"

The twins jumped and rushed to her. Flim begged, "Reconsider your decision, Silk Shimmer! You're our star! If you're not with us, our whole circus is going to fall apart!"

Flam took her hoof. "We'll give you a raise! We'll make the living conditions better! We... we'll give you your favorite fruit snacks!"

"Fruit snacks?" Tomato muttered.

"They're yummy, Tomato," Cheese whispered.

Silk swiped her hoof away. "After this deception, forget it. I'm not working for somepony who has to lie to get what they want. Let your circus die, I'm done with it." With that, she trotted to the train, opened up one of the cars, and levitated a sleeping Goldie out. Then she and Silver trotted away from the train and toward the Sandwiches.

Flim and Flam were stunned by Silk's words, but it wasn't long before they noticed the glares of the townsfolk. They glanced at each other, and with nervous grins, they hopped back onto the train, urged the rest of their troupe onto it, and then chugged away before anyone said a word.

Cheese snorted. "No wonder they didn't want me to fix it. It wasn't even broken!"

"I humiliated myself for nothing," Tomato grumbled.

Silk grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry for all the trouble. I should have known better than to just help them frame her and let them attempt a kidnapping like that. Silver here talked me out of going through with this."

Silver shrugged. "I just didn't want to lose my sister... especially when she's still healing. I just wish she wasn't so antsy."

Silk's eyes widened. "Oh... uh, Silver?"

"Yes?"

"We need to take her to the hospital. She hurt herself and might've ripped open an old wound or something."

Silver held a grin, squeaking like a dying mouse, and his eye twitched. After a few moments, he fainted.

Author's Note:

I hate how long this chapter took.

But yeah, between bouts of worry about how this would turn out, trying to come up with lyrics for the song, multiple distractions, real life, and weak motivation, I slowly wrote this thing. But, lo, and behold, the Flim Flam Brothers and the Sandwich Brothers had their battle!

Duh, of course Cheese and Tomato were going to lose.

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a tannish-yellow form topped with red-orange. He turned to it, and for a moment, there stood his mother, looking on disapprovingly at both her sons. She especially glared at Tomato, and shaking her head, she said, "Do I see a music note on that flank?"

... Wow. Was that his imagination or his memory?

Duh, of course Cheese and Tomato were going to lose.

Maybe someday...

[SageBrony07]

Tommy needs some selfesteem. Great job with this story. I enjoyed it.

[Goldfinch142]

Ah, another song, I see! I find it very entertaining how you incorporate musical competitions into your stories. First Brother Bothers, and now this lovely piece of Sandwich vs. Flim Flam. Shame that the Flim Flams won. Gosh, I hate the Flim Flam Brothers' attitude. Great characterization of them, though. They did nothing that I couldn't see themselves in the show doing, even the kidnapping Comedy Gold part. I hope Silver Shill's hospital bill doesn't become unmanageable...well, at least Goldie learned her lesson. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out that the "show-off" upstaging her and his brother just tried to save her.

Poor Tommy. Hopefully that chocolate isn't too hard to get out of fur.

He even went through a music battle against them to convince them, and he lost. All because Tomato couldn't get a grip.

Ouch. Cheese blames Tomato for their failure. I guess he had a good reason to, but he's the one who forced Tomato to do something he didn't want to do, so their loss was partly Cheese's fault too.

[ChaoticKindness]

I really loved the song segment here! You did a great job with it.

I loved to see Tommy so uncomfortable and being forced to sing mwahaha
Seems like things are escalating between him and Cheese. Do I sense a fight coming on?

[FanOfMostEverything]

Accidentally dunking yourself in a fondue fountain doesn't sound pleasant, refreshing, or sanitary. \

"We're magicking her mouth shut."

And no one objects to that? She can't defend herself! Heck, isn't there a courthouse in this town?
Ah well, the truth outed in the end.

Still, I hope the Sandwich brothers are able to discuss what happened reasonably. There don't seem to very good odds of it—even if Tomato gets the courage to mention seeing their mother, Cheese will probably unknowingly stick his hoof in his mouth first—but I still have my fingers crossed. If they can't have a frank discussion soon, they may just tear themselves apart again. Maybe Silk Shimmer could officiate or something...

In any case, great job with the musical duel. I look forward to more.

[howard035]

I can't believe you were worried about writing the FlimFlam brothers as proper villains! You had them exuding copious amounts of smugness, a get-rich-quick scheme that tramples on others, their condescending reassurances, elaborate misdirections, a fantastical singing interlude, and a core of brotherly teamwork that is their one redeeming trait. You even worked in their trademark "running out of town with their tails between their legs!" I think this is the best FlimFlam brothers scheme I've ever seen in the fandom!

The more I think about that line from Cheese "party pony powers aren't meant to be used for profit," the more I keep thinking about how Flim and Flam, with their music and their gadgets and their pension for showing up in towns and entertaining people, I'm starting to think of them as the (pre-reformed) Sunset Shimmer to Cheese Sandwich's Twilight Sparkle. Imagine the Great Ponyacci, with two young unicorn apprentices with gift for gizmos, gab and G-minors, but who had to dismiss those budding students because they wanted to use his knowledge for grift. Now the true heir to the party pony legacy must defeat them!

Seriously though, it was great to see how they brought Cheese and Tomato's issues to the forefront. I hope we see a musical re-match or even a goof-off, after Cheese has helped Tomato with his confidence, and together they can put those Seaddle Scam artists in their place!

[Godslittleprincess]

Okay, do the Sandwich bros need another heart to heart? All that self-loathing can't be healthy.