My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

It was very early in the morning, the sun not scheduled to rise within another hour. Down on Sweet Apple Acres, Sora laid in his bed in the guest room, having an enjoyable dream involving him and Kairi having their date on Destiny Island, the two finally sharing a paopu fruit as they sat together, watching the sun set. His love was still away doing her part as a Keyblade Master, protecting any worlds from the Heartless. As much as he would love to join her, he couldn't leave for a couple reasons. One of them was the fact that he had to obey Master Yen Sid's orders, not wanting to disobey him and risk having his Keyblade taken away, if the old wizard was able to do so. The other was more because of how vulnerable Equestria was. Without someone staying in the world, darkness could easily swallow it, and having Maleficent and Pete show up in this world made it more important to stay and keep everyone safe.

The teen rolled over in his bed, mumbling in his sleep as his dream began to get a little more romantic. "Mmmm...That's a nice swimsuit you're wearing, Kairi. How'd you put that on so quickly?"

The door to his room opened, Apple Bloom, quietly sneaking in with a couple pot lids. She heard Sora muttering in his dream, giggling silently as he kept talking in his sleep. The filly reached the edge of the bed, holding the lids in her hooves and took in a deep breath.

"Wakey wakey, Sora! Cider Season's here!" Apple Bloom shouted, slamming the lids together, making a loud clanking sound.

"AHH!" The teen was woken out of the best dream he had ever had, flailing out of his bed and landing on his head. Sora squinted his eyes tiredly, his ears ringing with the headache from smacking his head on the wooden floor. He saw Apple Bloom, giving him a beaming grin, his living, mobile alarm clock going off a few hours too early. He poked the filly's muzzle with his hoof repeatedly, making her giggle. "Snooze button. Why you no work?"

"Sora, ya gotta get up! It's Cider Season!" Apple Bloom yelled, slamming the pot lids together.

"Mrf...Cider Season?" Sora asked, falling over to his side, slowly getting up on his hooves. "What's 'Cider Season'?"

"Applejack can tell ya downstairs! Big Mac's got the press all ready and Granny Smith's already got all the good apples set for makin' the best cider all of Equestria will ever taste!" The stallion quickly picked up the filly before she could bang the lids again.

"Please don't bang those again," he said. "I'm already awake. And you're a bad at being one of those windup monkey dolls with the cymbals they clack together."

"Ah was?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah. But you're a lot more cuter than those freaky things." Sora began swinging the filly around while screeching like a chimp.

"Ah ain't a monkey! Ah'm a pony!" she said with a giggle as she was swung around.

"What's the difference?" After taking the time messing with Apple Bloom to wake himself up a little, Sora lowered her back to the floor and followed after the filly to meet up with the rest of the family. Heading outside to an empty patch in the orchard, finding a rolling press squishing apples underneath the grinding wheel, Big Macintosh running on the treadmill that powered the press. While the cider being made poured out into the wooden barrels to store the liquid, Applejack switched the barrels around after each one was filled, at least a dozen barrels were filled with the apple cider. "Hey, Applejack."

"Mornin', Sora," the farm mare said. "Hope ya weren't plannin' on sleepin' in this week. Cider Season's here."

"So, Cider Season is...selling apple cider?" Sora asked, eyeing the dozen full barrels stacked like a pyramid next to them.

"Our special brew of apple cider. Most of our profits every year comes from this season, aside from the Zap Apples." Applejack grabbed a mug and poured some cider into it from the cider press. She gave the pegasus the frothy mug, the teen looking at the brownish liquid questionably. "Go on and try a sip. It's the best darn cider y'all will ever taste."

"...Well...Ok, then." Sora shrugged his shoulders, trusting Applejack and took a small sip. The moment the cider hit his taste buds, his eyes widened at the surprisingly delicious taste. He slowly downed the mug, savoring the apple scented beverage until there was not a single drop left. "Wow! This is delicious! I can see why you sell this stuff once every year. I bet ponies would kill just to grab a barrel full of this stuff."

"Actually, Sora, we don't sell the barrels," Apple Bloom said. "Ponies actually buy a mug, all of them linin' up at a stand we set up down by the road to taste it."

"Plus, with how delicious it is, everypony all over Equestria wants at least one mug. Sadly, we don't really have enough every year, and many ponies go home without even tasting it at least once for the whole week." Applejack finished filling up the last barrel for the first day of Cider Season, stacking the barrel with the others. "Kinda doesn't help that the first batch for the last few years are mostly taken by Pinkie Pie. She buys almost three dozen mugs."

"Then why don't you make more than just this much?" Sora asked. "It can't be that hard to make enough for thousands of ponies."

"Are ya plum crazy!?" Granny Smith yelled, appearing behind the press with a rotten apple in her hoof. "Our famous cider for Cider Season is made with care and quality! One bad apple in the bunch will make the whole batch taste bad! As much as we want to serve everypony, it's better to have less of somethin' with good taste than a lot of somethin' that tastes like toilet water marinated with mud."

"...So, I drank mud?" Sora asked jokingly, earning a stern glare from the entire family. "...Ok, I get it. Quality over quantity. Though, if we're going to get most of the populace coming here to try this cider, Pinkie is being limited to one mug if she's in the line. She's not going to hog a full barrel to herself...or five. However many barrels three dozen mugs make up."

Sora helped Applejack and Big Macintosh carry the barrels of cider over to the stand set up near the road outside of the orchard. As they reached the road, they all stared in surprise, the path lined up for at least a mile, tents set up at the start of the line. Some ponies seemed really desperate to camp out the previous night, the Apple family's cider starting to sound more like an addictive drink than a tasty beverage to die for. While they set the barrels they were able to carry down, Rainbow Dash flew in, her jaw dropped in utter shock at the massive line.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Rainbow shouted. "I woke up early to try to get in line first, and everypony else thought about CAMPING in front of the stand!?"

Coming out from the first tent, along with a few balloons, was Pinkie Pie, her frizzy mane more frazzled from bed head. "Hi, guys! Beautiful before sunrise this morning, huh!?"

"Pinkie!?" Rainbow landed before the pink mare, growing frustrated. "You're at the front of the line!? AGAIN!?"

"Well, I couldn't wait to taste this year's yummy cider. So, I had this great idea to have a little camping party! It was a fun night last night, Dashie! You should have joined us!" The irritated pegasus mare looked like she was about to blow up, her face turning from blue to red. "I am ready to taste me some cider!"

"Sorry, Pinkie, but your binge drinking over the cider ends now," Sora said, making Pinkie's jaw hit the ground in shock. "Applejack told me you buy several mugs and waste up a lot of cider, where the other ponies waiting far in the back might not get some because you buy up a large percentage of what the Apples already made."

"B-But, it's so good," Pinkie whined.

"Yeah, so I heard," Rainbow growled, leering at the depressed earth pony.

"Rainbow, if you want any cider, get a spot at the back of the line before it gets worse." The pegasus mare grumbled, flying over the line to get a spot at the end before anyone else moved in before her. "Sheesh. Rainbow's got a serious attitude."

"Well, Rainbow Dash has been tryin' to buy a mug of cider every year, but every time she reaches the stand, we always run out," Applejack explained. "Other ponies get mad too, and...most of that anger comes from both Pinkie buyin' out a couple barrels and making small batches of high quality cider. That, and Ah think the same ponies who already got a mug end up comin' back to buy another."

"Alright then." Applejack opened up the stand, placing one of the barrels under the tap to pour it out from a spigot, several clean mugs ready to fill with the delicious apple beverage. Sora flew up in the air, letting out a silent whistle at the massive line, bringing his hooves up to his mouth. "ATTENTION, EVERYONE! CIDER SEASON IS OPEN!" The crowd had cheered, finally time for the lucky ponies to drink the tastiest drink the Apple family always makes every year. "THERE'S GOING TO BE A FEW RULES IN PLACE SO EVERYONE CAN HAVE AT LEAST ONE MUG OF CIDER! RULE ONE: ONLY ONE MUG PER CUSTOMER! AND RULE TWO: IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A MUG, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANOTHER THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WEEK!"

Most of the ponies in the queue all groaned, the teen knowing that some of them had been selfish enough to get back in line the next few days. With the new rules set in place, Cider Season officially began, with Pinkie at the start of the line. The pink mare pulled out a large sack of bits, but Sora leered at Pinkie and shook his head, not allowing her to have more than one mug. Even though she gave him a sad look, he stood his ground and stood by what he announced, wanting at least everyone for today to have at least one chance to drink the cider. She sadly pulled out a couple bits from the large bag, receiving one mug only, filled up by Apple Bloom.

The line began to move as the sun ascended into the sky, each customer paying their bits for a fresh mug of Sweet Apple Acres cider. A couple hours had passed, and already the Apple family was down to the last barrel, having pleased several ponies, many of them from Ponyville. Rarity, Twilight, and Spike were in the line and got themselves a drink, though Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were just a few ponies behind the stand. Fluttershy was up next after a while and got her cider, Rainbow slamming a couple bits down to wait for hers, panting like a dog with her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

Apple Bloom tried to pour a frothy mug for the eager pegasus mare, only for the last barrel to fizz out, barely leaving a drop and foam. "Uh oh. That's the last of it."

Rainbow's excitement turned from miserable to furious in the span of a milisecond. "Oh, you're all out again! Surprise surprise! And every single time I'm up, you just so happen to run out!"

The rest of the crowd began complaining too, hounding the Apples over how they never make enough for everyone, even with the rules Sora called out to the mile long line. "Ah'm sorry, everypony. But don't worry! Tomorrow, we'll have some more ready to sell!"

"Is there gonna be enough for everypony, or are you just going to run out like today!?" Rainbow continued complaining, the angry mob joining her as they continued spouting insults.

Sora had enough, summoning his Keyblade and shooting out Thundaga spells around the crowd, spooking them and ceasing their complaints. "Listen up! As good as the cider is, there's a reason why it's so good that none of you seem to have the patience for!"

"Wait, you gave Sora cider, and not me!?" Rainbow shouted, earning another Thundaga spell that silenced her.

"Rainbow Dash, don't start it up again," the teen warned. "As I was saying, it takes time in order to make something with utter perfection! Whether it involves art, buildings, food, or beverages, you can't rush everything, otherwise it'll be a mess!"

"Sora's right, everypony," Applejack said, thanking the stallion for his help. "Our cider's made from the freshest, high quality apples on our farm. Our recipe takes time, love, and integrity. We've been tryin' to supply more for ya-"

"Which you don't!" Rainbow yelled, Sora quickly slamming into the pegasus, both to keep her quiet and getting some payback for her past tackling.

"Which is why we can't rush supplyin' what ya'll demand. Ah'm sorry, everypony, but ya'll will have to come back tomorrow!" The crowd murmured, still mad at the fact that none of them got a sip of cider.

Suddenly, coming down the path, everyone went silent as their ears perked up, hearing machinery noises coming from a cart rolling along the road. It moved on its own, the machine it carried looked like some kind of collector of sorts. It made a sudden stop, purposefully bumping into the white fence separating the road from the orchard, making the end tilt. Sitting on lush couches were a pair of unicorn stallions, and they appeared to be twins with the way they looked and what they were wearing.

The two stallions stepped off as everyone approached the strange machine and traveling ponies in curiosity. Their coats were a pale yellow, manes and tails striped red and white, both unicorns wearing blue and white striped shirts with a black bowtie and a matching hat, making them look like they were part of a barbershop quartet and split up with the other two members. The only major difference between the two were their hairstyles, cutie marks, and one of them sporting a red mustache. The one with the mustache's cutie mark was a whole apple with a slice missing, while the other seemed to have that slice for his cutie mark. Sora began to hear music playing, following with the rhythmic noises from their machine, feeling a song coming on from the shady twins.

[Flim]
Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town
Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found
Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair

[Flam]
That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage you and I will share

The crowd began to grow excited at the prospect of getting cider, but the Apples and Sora seemed a bit wary of these two unicorn brothers as they entertained everyone with their song.

[Flim and Flam]
Well you've got opportunity
In this very community

[Flam]
He's Flim

[Flim]
He's Flam

[Flim and Flam]
We're the world famous Flim Flam Brothers
Traveling salesponies nonpareil

"Nonpa-who?" Sora asked, the moustacheless brother, Flim, approaching the confused teen.

[Nonpareil, and that's exactly the reason why, you see
No pony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be

Flim picked up Apple Bloom in a foreleg and gave her a peck on the forehead.

And that's a new world, with tons of cider
Fresh squeezed and ready for drinking

[Flam]
More cider than you could drink in all your days of thinking

"I doubt that," Rainbow said skeptically.

[Flim and Flam]
So take this opportunity

[Flim, Flam, and Crowd]
In this very community

[Flam]
He's Flim

[Flim]
He's Flam

[Flim and Flam]
We're the world famous Flim Flam Brothers
Traveling salesponies

[Flim, Flam, and Crowd]
Nonpareil

[Flim]
I suppose by now you're wondering 'bout our peculiar mode of transport

[Flam]
I say, our mode of locomotion

[Flim]
And I suppose by now you're wondering, where is this promised cider?

[Flam]
Any horse can make a claim and any pony can do the same

[Flim]
But my brother and I have something most unique and superb
Unseen at any time in this big new world

[Flim and Flam]
And that's opportunity

[Flim]
Folks, it's the one and only, the biggest and the best

[Flam]
The unbelievable

[Flim]
Unimpeachable

[Flam]
Indispensable

[Flim]
I-can't-believe-able

[Flim and Flam]
Flim Flam Brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

While everyone else was excited to see their machine in action, Sora only leered at it. Just from hearing their names alone, Flim and Flam, he knew combining those two together could only mean trickery and con artistry. Plus, these two having an apple related cutie mark didn't mean these two were in any relation with the Apple family, having met their extended family, all of them being earth ponies. There were no unicorns in their family, and these shifty stallions were definitely not on the nth number of times removed in the family tree.

"What do you say, brother?" Flim asked, standing next to the Keyblade wielder, the teen rolling his eyes as the facial hairless twin approached Applejack.

[Crowd]
Oh, we got opportunity
In this very community
Please, Flim, please, Flam, help us out of this jam
With your Flim Flam Brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

"Pardon me, miss," Flim said. "It would be a great honor if my brother and I could borrow some of your delicious, and sellbindingly fragrant apples to demonstrate what our beautiful machine can do?"

"Uhh, sure, Ah guess," Applejack said, though a bit unsure with all the attention the Flim Flam Brothers were getting.

Opportunity, in our community

[Flam]
Ready, Flim?

[Flim]
Ready, Flam?

[Flim and Flam]
Let's bing bang zam!

Both brothers charged their horns, glowing a green aura as the shot a beam into their cider making machine, powering it up as it began to whir to life. "And show these thirsty ponies a world of delectable cider!"

The crowd began to chant "Cider" over and over as they watched, Rainbow Dash more focused on getting her cider, already believing Flim and Flam's machine could make lots of apple cider for everyone. The funnel on the device automatically moved on its own, hovering over one of the apple trees in the orchard, sucking up all the apples from their branches and into the tube leading into the Cider Squeezy 6000.

"Watch closely, friends!" Flim said.

[Flam]
The fun begins

"Now, this is where all the magic happens, folks!" Flim began explaining the functions of the machine as he stood on it. "Inside of the heaving, rolling, cider-press-boiling guts of our machine, the apples that have been plucked fresh from the trees, as we speak, are being turned into Grade-A, top-notch, five-star, blow-your-horeshoes-off, one-of-a-kind cider!"

Feel free to take a sneak peek!

The ponies all crowded around to get a better look at the machine doing its job, sorting out the good apples from the bad with the blinking green and red lights, but Sora leapt in front of them, glaring at the twins and stopping the chanting.

[Sora]
Now wait a second, hold it!
You two just over-sold it!
I guarantee that what you have just won't compare
Cause the very most important ingredient
Can't be added or done expedient
And that's quality, friends, Apple-Acres quality and care

[Flim]
Well, sir, I'm glad you brought that up, my friend, I say I'm glad you brought that up
You see that we are very picky when it comes to cider if you'll kindly try a cup

Flim gave Sora a mug of his and his brother's machine's freshly made cider. He tasted it just to humor them, only for his pupils to shrink as he drank it. It was surprisingly delicious, and better than Sweet Apple Acres' brand, even though they used the same apples. He failed to hide his shock from the brothers, sliding the mug back on their cart.

[Flam]
Yes, sir, yes, ma'am, this great machine lets just the very best
So what do you say then, Apples?
Care to step into the modern world
And put the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to the test?

The crowd began chanting again, Flim and Flam easily winning the ponies over. "So, what do you say, folks!? Do you see what this young stallion or the Apples can't?" Flim asked as Sora looked back at Applejack and her family. Aside from Apple Bloom, who was enjoying the song, the adults were just as worried as the pegasus was. "I can see it clear as day! I know that mare does, and so does he! Come on, Ponyville, you know what I'm talking about!"

]Flim and Flam]
We're saying you've got

[Flim, Flam, and Crowd]
Opportunity
In this very community
He's Flim, he's Flam
We're the world famous Flim Flam Brothers
Traveling salesponies nonpareil

[Flim and Flam]
Yeah!

Apple Bloom suddenly leapt up in front of Sora as the song ended. "You got a deal!"

"What!?" Sora exclaimed, the crowd cheering as they would finally get their cider. He held the excited filly down, keeping her still. "No deal!"

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you, sir?" Flim asked.

"My name's Sora, and you're not going to be doing any business here on this farm!" Apple Bloom squirmed out of the teen's grip.

"But Sora, with their machine, we could make enough cider to please everypony," she said.

"So, are you an Apple relative, Sora?" Flam asked, the pegasus slowly shaking his head. "Then why are you questioning our proposal when you aren't one of the owners of this farm?"

"...I-I...I work with them..." The brothers ignored Sora and approached Applejack.

"So, are you willing to agree to having our assistance in cider making?" Flim asked the orange earth pony.

"...Ah don't know," Applejack said. "We've always made cider the same way, takin' the time to make it perfect, not fast."

"How about we sweeten the deal?" Flim bartered. "If you can supply the apples, then we'll supply the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000."

"And we'll throw in the magic to power the machine for free," Flam added.

"Splitting the profits 75-25," they both said.

"Wait...who gets the 75%?" Applejack asked.

"Why, us, naturally," Flim smugly said.

The owners of the farm gasped in shock, the deal nowhere near equal or close enough to share the profits between both sides. The Flim Flam Brothers barely lift a hoof and use their magic to power their machine, quickly making the better cider for them. The Apples do all the harder work, caring for the thousands of apple trees needed to make said cider: make sure the orchard was well watered, keep out pests that threaten to ruin the ripe apples, even take care of old trees that have died and remove them before the decayed roots could infect the other nearby trees.

Sora stepped in for his boss and her family, making Flim and Flam back away as he landed in front of them. "That's unfair! A better share would be splitting it in half, not taking three quarters over a lazy machine than hard working labor!"

Flim and Flam looked at each other, undeterred by Sora's words. "Well, kiddo, it's actually quite a fair share if you look past the 'lazy machine', as you so put it."

"It actually takes quite a lot of money just to build something like the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000," Flim said, pulling out the blueprints of their machine. "There are all the parts needed to build and replace any if it malfunctions, combined with the expenses of repairs if physically damaged by an odd occurrence, like, for example, a hoofball comes flying in and breaks one of the tubes charging energy that makes our machine run."

"And since this baby requires magical power for it to run, you'll need us around in order to use it anyway," Flam added. "We've spent quite a lot of bits going through prototypes, and in case it runs down and we need to make another, 75% of the profits is quite reasonably sound."

"...W-Well...E-Even so, that..." Sora couldn't think of anything to counter the brothers' argument. He knew that making a machine that quick to make cider needed a lot of money to build and repair if needed, but Applejack's family needed the money during this season. Living with the Apples, he knew they couldn't afford a lot of hired help, always fixing their home and barn, buying new farming tools, and hoping they had enough to make due during the winter when crops couldn't grow in the cold weather. Filthy Rich was a good business partner, sharing the profits for their Zap Apple jam equally, but Flim and Flam knew more about business deals than he did. "...That...is a good point..."

"Exactly." Flim rolled up the blueprint, levitating it back on their fancy cart. "And we are dealing with business between the Apple 'family', not employees that work for them." Sora sighed and lowered his head, stepping aside, letting Flim and Flam through to speak with the Apple family. "So, Apples? Have we got a deal?"

The earth pony family all looked at each other, all of them silently agreeing on their answer. "No deal."

"...Very well, then," Flim said, not sounding disappointed in their failed business deal. "If you're refusing our generous offer, then that means we're going to be competitors."

"Fear not, everypony!" Flam exclaimed. "There will be plenty of cider for you all tomorrow!"

As the brothers headed back to their cart and machine, Flim pulled Sora closer to him and spoke to him in a low tone. "If I were you, I'd suggest quitting and find another job. By tomorrow, we're going to run Sweet Apple Acres out of business."

The pegasus's jaw dropped as he watched the smug, arrogant twins ride off down the path in their vehicle. As much as he wanted to tear the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to pieces, doing so would only cause more problems, and a lawsuit for destroying someone's property that would really run Sweet Apple Acres financially dry. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day, where more unhappy customers might break out into an angry mob if they ran out of cider again, and their new competition will ruin the Apple family and drive them out of their home.

---

The next morning, the Apples tried to make some more barrels of cider before the crack of dawn for the town, but they made a few less barrels than yesterday. It seemed like the pressure from Flim and Flam as competition had gotten to them, making them nervous and make less cider out of trepidation. Sora was both terrified and upset at the unicorn twins, Flim's threat to destroy Applejack's family legacy for over a century still lingered in his mind. He was busy fixing the fence post the brothers knocked over on purpose while the family served the others. Unfortunately, the amount they made was about to run out as they were down to their last barrel.

The rest of the mares, except for Rainbow Dash, waiting in line for her chance to get some cider, noticed the stallion was really tense as he worked on the fence. "Sora, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," he uttered, nudging the fence to check if it stayed perfectly still.

"You don't sound fine," Twilight said. "Did something happen yesterday?"

"...It's the Flim Flam Brothers. They're what's bugging me." Sora sat down, feeling his blood boil at the two conniving salesponies.

"I loved the song they sang! It was catchy!" He leered at Pinkie, her cheery demeanor disappearing at the spiteful glare he gave. "...Or it...wasn't?"

"What did they do that's gotten you so riled up?" Rarity asked. "They seemed to have a good business deal with Applejack and their machine."

"Yeah, it's a good idea and all, but splitting the profits that cheaply, their machine winning over their hard work toiling away in the fields, it's not right! I don't care if it's expensive to make!" Sora groaned, rubbing his temples as he felt a migraine appearing. "Applejack and her family need the sales from Cider Season along with the rest of their profits for the winter, when they can't grow anything. Now, they're going to compete with a hardworking family because they can just sit on their butts and let a device do everything for them!"

"It's innovative, Sora," Twilight explained. "I'm actually interested to know how their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy functions."

"I know it is, Twilight...But the cider that they made...What I tasted..." The Keyblade wielder looked over at the Apple family, afraid to even utter the words he was about to say behind their backs. He looked back at the other girls, swallowing the lump in his throat. "...It was better than their cider."

"It was!?" Pinkie asked, her mouth quickly forced shut by Sora's hoof.

"Pinkie, shush!" he hissed. "It's bad enough those two lazy unicorns, having an apple related cutie mark, are causing problems for Applejack and her family. I don't want to tell them and freak them out even more than they are right now. And with how much they made today, there's not going to be enough for this whole line."

Just as Sora had predicted, the last barrel fizzed out, completely ran out of the small batch they made for the day. "Sorry, everypony! That's all for today!"

"OH COME ON!" Rainbow shouted from the middle of the line.

"This is a nightmare," Sora grumbled. "This cider's like a drug no one can get clean of." As the crowd waiting in line began to complain again, the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 rolled up along the path. Flim and Flam purposefully ran into the corner post again, ruining Sora's work fixing the fence. "Seriously!? I just fixed that, you quartet dropouts!"

"Sorry! Didn't see where we were parking!" Flim "apologized", Sora's eye twitching in anger as they could clearly see where they were going, able to navigate their vehicle with their magic. "Such a shame you're out of cider. Yet again."

"Fear not, Ponyville! We will make some delicious cider for all of you within ten seconds flat!" The brothers activated their machine, making it whir to life as ponies gathered around the machine.

Rainbow immediately flew up to the front, not willing to chance being last or in the middle of the line to finally get her cider after so long. The funnel moved over one of the trees, Flim and Flam practically taking Sweet Apple Acres's apples without the owners' permission to do so, sucking in the fruit and making a barrel full of cider. Flim pulled out a mug and poured a full cup, giving it to Rainbow Dash as she licked her lips in anticipation. Sora was furious and he couldn't take them stealing his boss's apples, becoming a blur as he slid past the cyan pegasus with his Keyblade in his mouth. A sharp slice rang out in the air, silencing the crowd, Rainbow's mug cut cleanly through, spilling the cider to the ground as it soaked up the liquid.

Rainbow was heartbroken, finally moving as she tried desperately to scoop the absorbed cider from the ground, chewing on the dirt to try to taste some of the cider with tears in her eyes. "Ish thish a cruel joke?"

"Flim! Flam! You just stole Sweet Apple Acres property and are trying to sell a stolen product!" Sora aimed his Keyblade at them, both brothers shocked to see how fast the teen was and how he made his weapon appear while he was a pegasus. "I'm going to give you one chance to get off of this property before I break your stupid machine!"

"Sora, calm down!" Applejack exclaimed as she ran up to the teen, placing a hoof on his shoulder before he jumped the gun. "Don't blow your top. But he is right. Ya'll just stole our apples."

"Fine. Whatever," Flim said, snapping out of his shock. "There are plenty of other apple orchards around. We'll be able to make more cider than the Apples ever can in a decade."

"Alright, that's it! I'm breaking it now!" Sora tried to fly after Flim, Flam, and their cider squeezing machine, but was held back by Applejack, holding on tightly to his tail. "I'm not going to let you ruin Applejack's orchard and run them out of business! Her family deserves a lot more than you selfish, lazy, no good-"

Applejack slammed Sora down hard to the ground, spitting out his tail. "Consarn it, Sora, what is eatin' ya!? Ah know Flim and Flam are rivals, but you're lettin' this get out of hoof!"

"I don't want these lowlife con artists to take away everything you and your family had made of this land for nearly one hundred years! And I don't want anyone else to know their cider tasted better than yours!" Sora gasped and quickly shut his mouth, accidentally blurting out what he didn't want to tell them.

The crowd all stared at Sora in surprise, Rainbow out of anger for knowing how good it was when they offered him their cider, and the Flim Flam Brothers smirked as they looked at each other, their cider faster to make and better than the Apples'. He slowly looked over at Applejack, her eyes expressing shock and slight disappointment.

"...What?" the farm mare asked.

"Well, it seems as though your little employee doesn't feel confident enough in your cider anymore, Applejack," Flim taunted, snapping Applejack's gaze up to the unicorn brothers. "We all witnessed him drink our cider, and Flam and I both saw just how much he liked it."

"Trying to play it off after the first sip, but he knows he wants more of it. Right, Sora?" Flam asked.

The pegasus stallion looked down at the ground in shame, dragging his hood over his head. He couldn't deny the machine's cider was delicious, but he didn't want to drink anymore of their brand. He only made Applejack's cider business worse, knowing everyone else was going to get their drinks from Flim and Flam and their cider squeezing device. He didn't notice Applejack, her siblings, and even Granny Smith were leering at the brothers, having enough of their competitors sudden appearance and stealing their customers.

"Alright, Flim and Flam. How about we make a little wager?" Applejack asked, intriguing the twins. "We'll have ourselves a cider makin' contest. First team to make more barrels in an hour wins, and the winners will have full rights to sellin' their cider. Permanently."

The audience gasped, Sora looking up through his hood in shock at what he had just heard. "Very well, Applejack. We accept," Flim and Flam both said.

"Good. We begin tomorrow mornin'," Applejack said.

"Excellent. We bid you all adieu until tomorrow, Ponyville, with hundreds of barrels of cider ready to be sold!" The brothers sped off on their machine back down the road again, the crowd eerily quiet.

Applejack turned around and looked down at Sora, the teen averting his gaze from her. "Sora, look at me." He reluctantly obeyed, sitting up as he forced himself to look at his boss. "Was their cider really better than ours?" Sora nodded, lowering his hood over his eyes. "How come ya didn't tell us?"

"...I didn't want you to panic," he sadly said. "They threatened to run you out of your home if they took over Cider Season...I didn't want everyone else to know what I thought, because then they'd automatically go to them for cider when they don't do as much hard work as you and your family does."

"I'd rather take having my cider now than wait another year to not get any!" Rainbow complained, Pinkie bouncing on top of her and slamming her body into the ground.

"Dashie, you're not helping!" Pinkie said. "Remember what happened to Sora when he got all sad!? He lifted the hood on his jacket over his head! The hood equals sadness!"

Ignoring Rainbow Dash, Applejack lifted Sora's chin up to get him to look at her. "Sora, Ah don't care if ya think their cider's better. Ah'm glad you're stickin' up for us like ya did yesterday and today, and, to be honest, Ah wanted to punch their lights out, too, just comin' up out of nowhere as if they planned on arrivin' to try and take over."

"...You're not mad?" Sora asked.

"No. Just a little disappointed that ya lied, but Ah know ya didn't want to upset us. Y'all have done a lot for us on the farm." Applejack pulled Sora into a hug, patting his back to ease his worries. "And don't listen to a thing they say. Even if they see you as a hired hoof, y'all are an honorary Apple to us. Ya became part of the family when ya crashed in our orchard back then."

The stallion was a bit confused, but he snapped out of it, letting out a small smile. "I'm part of the family, even if I'm not an earth pony?"

"Sure as sugar. Besides, Apple Bloom could use another older 'siblin'' to make sure she stays out of trouble when Big Mac and Ah can't watch her." They both chuckled, Sora slowly taking the hoof off from over his head.

Soon, the crowd began to disperse, tomorrow going to be a day that decides who will sell apple cider to Ponyville. The ponies were once interested in Flim and Flam's Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, able to make more cider than the Apple family could, though they now realized that the reason why they went for their cider in the first place was to not only taste it, but help keep the family's livelihood. If they were run out of their own orchard by the traveling unicorn brothers, then they wouldn't have the same apples when they buy any from their stand. And with Applejack being one of six major heroines who saved Equestria a few times, it would be sad to have her and her family leave and be away from her other friends.

---

The next day, the duel between the Flim Flam Brothers and Sweet Apple Acres in the cider making competition was about to start. At least this time, the unicorn salesponies didn't knock the fence over again. All of the town had gathered at the southern edge of the orchard where the cider squeezing battle will take place. The Apples were getting themselves ready, Sora holding onto a heavy sandbag in place for Applejack as she bucked it hard, warming herself up.

"Applejack, are you sure you don't want me to help with this?" Sora asked. "I know you want to defend your orchard out of pride, but there's no way you can outlast a machine without my help."

"Sorry, Sora, but after showin' off your speed to Flim and Flam, we don't want them to think we're cheatin'," Applejack explained, bucking the bag hard and almost knocking the wind out of the Keyblade wielder. "Ah know Ah said y'all are part of the family, but them two expect only the true owners of our farm to compete."

"They're going to win. I don't want you guys to lose everything your grandmother and your ancestors worked hard to make." Applejack bucked again, knocking Sora off the sandbag.

"All we can do is try our hardest," the farm mare said. "Machines can break down at some point, but us farm ponies are too stubborn to rest."

Sora coughed, rubbing his sore chest after getting kicked away from the sandbag."It certainly shows..."

"Attention, everypony!" Mayor Mare announced, speaking through a megaphone to get everyone's attention, standing next to a large hourglass. "We are about to begin the competition! Each team has one hour to produce as much cider as they can! After the barrels have been counted when time is up, the winner will be the sole provider of apple cider for all of Ponyville!"

Sora sighed and walked over to the crowd, looking back at Applejack. "Good luck, boss."

"Thanks...we're gonna need it..." Applejack gulped, her family all getting into position.

"Are both teams ready!?" the mayor asked.

"We're ready!" Applejack called out.

"We've been born ready," Flim said nonchalantly, both he and his twin lounging on the sofa on their cart.

"Then let the cider making...begin!" Mayor Mare flipped the hourglass and began the timer, starting the cider making duel.

Flim and Flam shot magic into their machine and let it run on its own, sucking up apples on their side of the orchard for the match. On Sweet Apple Acres's side, Applejack began bucking the trees hard, sending all the apples falling off, while Apple carried a wooden bucket on her head, catching them as they fell. When it got full, the filly ran over to Granny Smith and poured the bushel out next to her, where the senior mare inspected each good apple from the bad, placing the perfect ones onto a chute leading to their presser while tossing the rotten ones away. Big Macintosh ran on the treadmill to grind the wheel into the fresh apples, pouring out cider into a barrel. As soon as it was full, the red stallion placed the lid on top of it and rolled it aside, putting an empty one in its place and continued running.

"Alright! We got a full barrel! We'll beat them Flim Flam Brothers in no-" As soon as Applejack looked over to the brothers, her jaw dropped as their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 had already made three barrels over their one. "...time?"

"Don't celebrate so soon, Apples!" Flim taunted as the two unicorns sipped some of their cider they poured from their slowly growing stacks of barrels.

"You're already falling behind!" Flam added, both brothers clinked their mugs together.

"Hypocrites," Sora grumbled, forced to watch from the sidelines as the Apples were falling way behind. After only near half a dozen barrels, the earth pony family were already starting to get exhausted: Applejack's bucking was getting weaker, Apple Bloom's burst of energy began to dwindle, Granny Smith exerted more energy than she should at her old age and was slowing her inspection, and Big Macintosh was a panting mess, his legs growing sore from constantly running, getting off and on the treadmill, and moving the full and empty barrels in their place. Sora began pulling his hair, the score between the two 15-5. "I can't take this anymore! They need help!"

"Even with the speed they're going, they'll be making one barrel to their three." Twilight pondered, the turned to the mayor. "Mayor Mare, are honorary family members allowed in the competition!?"

"...Uhh, well, I'm not exactly sure." The political mare looked over at the brothers. "Flim and Flam, do you object to honorary family members to help?"

"Psh! We don't care!" Flim said.

"Not even all of Canterlot could beat us!" Flam said as well.

"Then, I guess it's ok as long as Applejack is ok with it." Applejack ceased her bucking and looked over at her friends.

"...Yeah. Ah'd love to have the rest of mah 'family' helpin' us out." Sora and the rest of the mares grinned, leaping over the fence to help Applejack and her family.

"Alright, everypony, I'll assign your stations and stack each full barrel," Twilight said, marching in front of the other stoic helpers. "Fluttershy, help Applejack knock the apples out of the trees."

"Got it," Fluttershy said as she flew off to help Applejack.

"Pinkie, you've got apple catching duty," the unicorn ordered the party pony.

"Yes sir!...Ma'am?...Sir Ma'am!" Pinkie bounded off, grabbing an empty bucket from out of nowhere and caught the apples Fluttershy shook out from the branches.

"Rarity, help Granny Smith with quality control." Rarity nodded and ran over to help sort the good apples with the elder Apple. "Rainbow Dash, you help Big Mac press the apples into cider."

"Got it, Twilight!" Rainbow flew off and ran on the treadmill along with the red stallion, quickening the presser's speed and squeezing more cider.

"Sora, since you're well rounded with your skills, you can help the others when they run out of steam." The teen saluted with a grin, ready to show the Flam Flam Brothers not to underestimate them.

Without another word, he sped off and helped collect the apples. With his agility, he slammed his back legs into the trees, catching all the apples without losing a single one. Calling his Keyblade, he flew over to the sorting area, casting a light Aero spell on himself to sweep the apples in his bucket around his defensive cyclone barrier. He commanded the wind magic to fling out the rotten apples while tossing the good apples into the chute with the others. While continuing the same process, more barrels of cider were being produced for their side, quickly catching up with the Flim Flam Brothers and their machine. Now they were making five barrels to their six, and right now, they were in the lead with twenty four barrels to their nineteen.

Seeing how quick they were going, Flim spat out his mouthful of cider in shock, both brothers beginning to panic. "Come on, brother! We need to double time it! We can't lost to them!"

"But how is that Sora kid doing all that!?" Flam questioned.

"Forget that runt! Double the power, now!" They both poured more magic into their cider squeezing machine to make more cider. However, their idea backfired as the funnel began sucking up entire trees out of the ground, turning all their apples into mush along with bits of wood, dirt, branches, and rocks, the machine rejecting everything that came in. "Oh no! What do we do!?"

"Wait! I got it!" Flam flipped a switch, changing the priority for the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to take everything thrown inside of it to make cider, no matter what was inside it. "There, now we're back in business!"

Sora spotted the two cheating unicorns changing their tactics, making barrels of muck instead of cider with each barrel it shot out. They were focusing more on beating them than caring about making quality cider now. He finished going through another batch and flew down to Rainbow and Big Mac, both of them tired, though the pegasus mare noticed the unicorn twins' cheating plan.

"I can't believe those guys!" Rainbow complained.

"Forget about what they're doing, Rainbow Dash. All they care about is making a quick bit, their arrogance and faith in their machine will be their downfall. You two tag out with me and help sort or gather apples. I'll handle the rest of the pressing." They both nodded and swapped out with Sora, the teen running faster than the two of them combined, creating more cider while they assisted the others.

It was a pretty close call, the barrels all stacking pretty evenly, the Sweet Apple Acres team pouring their all into beating the machine. The pyramid stacks on both sides were getting higher and higher, at least reaching thirty barrels simultaneously. Eventually, the last few grains of sand in the hourglass fell to the bottom, the hour finally coming to an end.

"Time is up! Stop production!" Flim and Flam turned off their machine while the others, excluding Sora, collapsed in a heap as they caught their breaths. Sora skidded to a halt on the treadmill, stopping the press as they made one last barrel before time elapsed. He watched Mayor Mare tallying up the barrels on both sides, though he could tell that it was a tie. Though their cider was in higher quality with the speed they put in to make it by working hard, a large majority of the barrels on top for Flim and Flam was filled with disgusting mush that had a small hint of apple, with a side of bark, leaves, and rocks. "It appears to be a tie!"

"What!?" Flim and Flam both exclaimed, highly shocked as they didn't even pay attention to how much both sides produced.

"A tie?" Applejack asked, panting heavily from her exhaustion. "T-Then who wins?"

The brothers looked at each other and smirked, knowing a surefire way to tell who was the true victor. "We have an idea. We'll have three random pony judges test each one, and the one with the most votes wins."

"Seems fair enough," Sora said.

While the others continued resting, the teen grabbed one of the barrels from their side while Flim and Flam levitated the top most and 'freshest' batch. The mayor chose three random judges in the audience as both sides poured three separate mugs. Sora recognized the ponies, having seen them around Ponyville every so often: an earth pony mare with a cream colored coat and pink and blue hair named Bon Bon, her friend Lyra, a green unicorn mare with white and pale green hair, and a black pegasus stallion with a blue and white mane styled in a mohawk named Thunderlane, one of the weather ponies that worked with Rainbow Dash. Sora and Flim approached the three ponies, the unicorn stallion smirking, already claiming victory when he was oblivious to all the twigs and rocks in his mugs held in his aura.

"How about the losing team goes first, knowing that the BEST cider, which you claimed to be ours yesterday, will obviously win?" Flim gloated, ignored by the Keyblade wielder.

"Don't celebrate too soon, Flim." The pegasus gave out Sweet Apple Acres's cider to the unbiased judges, each of them taking a sip.

"Mmmm! This is perfect like last year's!" Bon Bon said

"Yup! Tasty!" Lyra added, downing her mug. "Can I have more?"

"Lyra, we're supposed to be judging, not begging," the unicorn's friend scolded. "...Though I do admit it makes me want another cup."

"You two took the words out of my mouth," Thunderlane said. "Delicious cider as the Apples claim."

"Yes, yes, their cider is 'acceptable'," Flim interrupted, bumping Sora out of the way as he replaced the judges empty mugs with his. "But, as Sora had suggested, ours is far better because it's a lot more fresh! Have a taste, and you'll see just how true it is!"

The two mares and stallion stared at the Flim Flam Brothers mugs, spotting the floating bits of tree in the liquid, smelling more like mud than cider. The three judges took a tentative sip and immediately regretted it, spitting it out at Flim in disgust.

"AGH! What the hay did I just taste!?" Thunderlane questioned, dropping his mug and trying to scrape his hoof over his tongue, desperately trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Eww! Why am I tasting mud!?" Bon Bon asked.

Lyra gagged and spat out a rock that got past her throat. "Ugh! Why are there rocks in here!? I could have choked on that!"

It was clearly obvious to the rest of the crowd who the real winner is after watching the three unfortunate ponies drink the fresher batch of cider the brothers made. The judges threw their mugs at Flim, the stallion quickly ducking from them as he and Flam were both completely flabbergasted. They looked over at Sora, holding his own smirk.

"T-This isn't fair! Y-You must have cheated!" Flim exclaimed.

"No. I did no such thing. You two are the big cheaters, and you're swindlers!" Sora summoned his Keyblade, pointing it at them. "You two were so focused on winning and trying to kick my friend and her family out of their farm that you forgot the one thing you should have paid attention to: quality control! You decided to speed up your machine to get more apples, but you ended up sucking out at least two dozen trees out of their roots, destroying every apple. So what do you do next? You flip a little switch on that giant excuse of a vacuum to make it accept anything that isn't a fresh and ripe apple, and you make muck instead of cider!"

"We have other barrels of better cider!" Flam began tossing the barrels that were made with the cocktail of earthy water, pointing his hoof at the now lesser amounts of their cider stock. "See!? Our better cider right here!"

Flim facehooved, the brothers unable to win the crowd back with their inventory dwindled to only twenty barrels and showing they cared more about winning and earning bits than caring about giving their customers quality beverages. As the facial hairless stallion looked up at the crowd of ponies, he chuckled nervously, stretching out the collar of his shirt as he began to sweat.

"Well, taking out your bad cider, it looks like we win." Flim turned back to Sora, the teen patting the blade of his weapon against his hoof. "So, Sweet Apple Acres stays as Ponyville's cider provider, but you two aren't off the hook just yet. Hey, Applejack!? You think these flimflamming twins should compensate for not only destroying your property, but also destroying your family's legacy!? The same legacy that had founded this town and built it from the ground up since Granny Smith was younger!?"

Sora, Flim, and Flam turned to the others, all of them having caught their breath as they held the same smirk the pegasus stallion has. "Oh, Ah believe they should. Ya did steal one of our tree's apples yesterday, and ya uprooted a couple dozen healthy trees in our orchard. And before the two of ya try to weasel your way out of a historical fact, Granny really was there when Ponyville was built."

"As sure as Ah'm over a hundred years old!" the old mare said, earning an odd look from most of the crowd, even Sora. "...Oh, come on! Ah ain't that old! That's impossible."

"...Sure, Granny. But, Ah don't think ya might have any bits on ya on account of that fancy little machine of yours that caused more trouble than it did help anypony." Applejack brought a hoof to her chin as she thought hard about how Flim and Flam could pay them back. She looked at Sora's Keyblade, her grin widening as she found her idea. "...How's about havin' that darn invention of theirs broken? One slice per tree ought to be fair."

"S-Slice???" Flim and Flam saw the crazed look on Sora's face as he held his Keyblade tightly in his mouth.

"Ah suggest ya'll get away before he moves. It's probably gonna be messy." The pegasus flew off at blinding speed, both brothers fleeing out of his way and away from their cider making machine.

Sora hacked into the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 exactly fourteen times, his slashes a blur while spinning around the machine. As soon as he was done, he hovered over it with a grin on his face, giving the top of the machine a light tap with his hoof. From that small bit of contact, the entire wagon crumbled in on itself, turning it into nothing more than scrap metal and broken pieces. Sora landed on the ground and pranced over the shocked Flim Flam Brothers, their jaws dropping as their invention was quickly torn apart. Dismissing his Keyblade, he grabbed both their heads and pulled them closer to his.

"If you two ever come back here and try to steal my boss's business and destroy her home with another stupid invention of yours, I'll do more than just break whatever you make." Flim and Flam looked at each other in fear, then back down to the surprisingly strong sword wielder with unknown magic. "I think this is the part where you two run away with your tails between your legs. Now."

Not needing to be told twice, Flim and Flam fled for their lives down the road and out of Ponyville. He waved his hoof as they disappeared, then headed back to his friends, relieved to get rid of the unicorn swindlers and destroy their dangerous machine.

"Ah think ya went a little overboard, Sora," Applejack said, though some of the group were pretty amazed at his feat.

"Well, now you've got some scrap metal to sell along with all the cider we made." He looked up at their stack of barrels, far more than the Apple family had made in the past couple days. "And it looks like there's enough for all of Ponyville, right?"

"Sure is! Now, everypony won't have to worry about missin' out on Cider Season this year!" The crowd all cheered, both glad to know that everyone present could have the chance to drink Sweet Apple Acres's grade-A cider and that the Apple family won't have to leave town.

---

Cider Season ended as everyone had all paid for their mug of cider, and no one went home disgruntled and crabby without one drink. Even Rainbow Dash finally got her cider after so long, but she didn't savor it like the rest, nearly swallowing the entire mug along with the beverage. As night set in on the world, Sora helped Big Macintosh drag the cider presser back in the barn for further use he next year Cider Season comes around. After covering the hoof powered machine with a tarp, the stallions were about to head back to the farmhouse when Applejack came up to them, rolling a barrel of cider along the way.

"Hey, we got an extra barrel," Sora said. "We must have really gone overboard with making that cider, huh?"

"Yeah, and next time, we're gonna invite you guys to help us make a lot of cider so we won't keep disappointin' everypony again. So, as thanks for helpin' us with them Flim Flam Brothers-" Applejack rolled the full barrel in front of Sora. "-Ah think ya deserve to have the last barrel."

"Huh? Me?" She nodded, Big Mac as well when Sora turned to look at him. "...Uhh, should I after the other day?"

"Even after ya said their cider was better, ya stuck with our family's instead. Besides, Ah'm sure your friends outside Equestria would want a little taste." He was utterly speechless, only able to nod his head, touching a hoof to the full barrel. "Now, hurry and hide that back at that ship of yours before Rainbow smells it and chugs the whole thing down. Dinner's almost ready, and we don't wanna start without all our honorary family members."

"...Yes, ma'am." Sora lifted the barrel up on his back and hurried off to his Gummi ship to save it until Kairi, Donald, and Goofy came back to see him.

He might save some for King Mickey, Riku, maybe even Master Yen Sid. It would be a shame to have to tell all of them that this cider can only be made once a year. Hopefully Sora would never have to see Flim and Flam again, heeding his warning and never showing themselves in Ponyville ever again.

Comments

[timbo8]

nice littter slice of life chapter you did

[HB_DS2013]

Something tells me apple bucking will be a pretty cool minigame.

[Starblade]

7311233 I think that was just a mis-click of the "Post Comment" button.

[BenictheHedgehog]

now that was good chapter of Sora bonding with the Apple family getting stronger and being a Honorary member too. also can't wait to see how Kairi,
Donald, Goofy, and Riku would act when they taste it.

[Snow]

Once again there's the issue of the Flim Flam brothers stealing the Apple Family's apples to compete with them, but at least this time someone comments on it. Shame they don't actually have them arrested for it. I guess what they went with is good enough, though.

[Bahamut Omega]

That cider is going to be fermented by the time Sora's friends taste it. Non alcoholic cider has to be made fresh daily because its shelf life is basically nonexistent. Once made it starts fermenting within 24 hours.

[Xavy T Drag]

Flim and Flam shot magic into their machine and let it run on its own, sucking up apples on their side of the orchard for the match. On Sweet Apple Acres's side, Applejack began bucking the trees hard, sending all the apples falling off, while Applebloom carried a wooden bucket on her head, catching them as they fell. When it got full, the filly ran over to Granny Smith and poured the bushel out next to her, where the senior mare inspected each good apple from the bad, placing the perfect ones onto a chute leading to their presser while tossing the rotten ones away. Big Macintosh ran on the treadmill to grind the wheel into the fresh apples, pouring out cider into a barrel. As soon as it was full, the red stallion placed the lid on top of it and rolled it aside, putting an empty one in its place and continued running.

[SvenFoxx]

You know, it strikes me that Flim and Flam could probably legitimately compete with the Apple family on Cider Season. And I mean the kind of competition that helps both sides. It was already proven that they can provide a good product, so if they just went at normal speed and lept an eye on quality control, they could probably be the cider providers of the town.

Heck, if the two sides began working together, there wouldn't a be company on Equestria that could compete with them!

Their only real failing is that tehy have their eyes on the immediate profit, rather than the later profit.

[MJ]

Every time a shitty-ass pony song is sung, the nearest U.N.S.C. Spartan dies. XD

Also, awesome chapter! Sora rocks!

[Thenewbluebrony]

8116336
magic

[Animatorsnake]

When I always remember this episode, I always imagined the several severe laws being broken by Flim & Flam, and imagined they would have a criminal record or at least be chased off or warned off by the rest of the Apple Family - I mean, you mess with the matriarch of the Apple Family, you are pretty much asking for trouble.

[Lightning Explosion]

When it comes to Flim and Flam, you need two things: a businessman who knows how to counter all your arguments and a piece of wood to chase them both away. Honestly, the author could have changed a little just for Flim and Flam to get screwed even more

(Seriously, I find it annoying not to have anyone who can fight your arguments and slanders)

[Lightning Explosion]

10307417
Then you ask, "Hey, why aren't they arrested after doing such acts that would possibly give a criminal record?", the answer is that Equestria has such a kind ruler that anyone abuses her kindness and ends up being acquitted.

[talontitanbane]

7355492
Flim and flam should be glad that equestria isn't like the middle east. They'd look mighty funny hobbling around on three legs.