//------------------------------// // A Tale of Two Brothers // Story: The Ties that Bind // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// "So... these were the ponies you traveled with after you left Canterlot?" Twilight asked, glancing at the two salesponies nervously. "Yep," Sunset replied as she trotted over the other two fillies, "I met them almost as soon as I got out of the city." "Ah, what a fateful meeting it was, wouldn't you say Flam?" Flim exclaimed as he leaned on his twin. "Oh most certainly Flim," Flam replied with a knowing nod, "why, the poor filly was a wreck when we found her wandering the road outside of the city!" "Being the upstanding gentlecolts that we are," Flim said, ruffling Sunset's mane -- much to the filly's annoyance, "we couldn't just leave a filly like that to fend for herself of course, right brother?" "Indeed not Flam old boy!" Flim responded with an indignant snort, "Why, we'd be rudely remiss!" "Terribly thoughtless!" "Completely careless!" "Needlessly neglectful!" "Downright derelict in our duties as dashing do-gooders!" "Okay, we get it!" Trixie shouted, "you wanted to help Sunset!" she rubbed a temple and gave an irritated groan, "Trixie is getting a headache just listening to you two..." she muttered. "This coming from you of all ponies?" Sunset remarked with a raised eyebrow. "And just what's that supposed to mean, Sunset Shimmer?" Trixie retorted, narrowing her eyes at the orange filly. "Oh, nothing," Sunset replied innocently, "just that I would've thought the Great and Powerful Trixie would've gotten along better with the World Famous FlimFlam Brothers, that's all." Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Trixie's sputtered response and she turned to listen to Sunset as she spoke again. "And anyway," Sunset continued, "that's not how I remember the meeting at all." What do you mean?" Twilight asked curiously, "what happened?" "These two dunderheads saw my saddlebags and thought I'd be an easy mark because I was a filly," she chuckled darkly, "they both found out very quickly that I wasn't exactly a... stable foal back then," she turned back to the twins with a cheerful smile, "isn't that right, fellas?" The two identical stallions visibly swallowed and looked away. "I-I'm... quite sure I have no idea what you're referring to, i-isn't that right, brother?" Flim said with a nervous tug of his vest. "C-Certainly, dear brother of mine," Flam replied pawing at the ground with a hoof, "the only thing I r-remember is the adorable and helpless little filly we helped get back on her hooves." Sunset chuckled again and turned back to Twilight and Trixie. "But in all seriousness though," she said with a grateful smile, "these two really did help me out when I needed it and I owe them just as much as they owe me," she glanced back at the brothers from over her shoulder, "and they do owe me." "I still say that manticore taming gig had some merit..." Flim muttered. "Alas, it wasn't to be, brother," Flam replied, patting his brother on the back with a sigh, "Sunset may have had the right of it on that one." "Well now!" Ancient Scroll said with a hearty laugh, "sounds like you three had yourselves quite an adventure!" "Believe me, Uncle Scroll," Sunset responded with a frown, "it wasn't exactly an 'adventure' I'd like to repeat any time soon." "So... what are you two doing here in town?" Twilight asked curiously, "isn't this town supposed to be far from any other place in Equestria?" "An astute question, little lavender lady!" Flam answered, "you see, my brother and I ran into a bit of... trouble in the last few towns we visited..." "And we thought it'd be a good idea to... lay low for awhile," Flim finished. "Why am I not surprised?" Sunset remarked with a sigh, "what did you two do this time?" "Hey now," Flim replied waving a defensive hoof, "don't be so quick to pin this one on us, Shimsham. It wasn't our fault... this time." "Really?" Sunset responded with a skeptical raise of her brow, "and whose fault was it?" "Well it's like this," Flam began rubbing the back of his neck, "we had stopped in Detrot to set up shop and things were going fairly well for us." "We practically had a crowd of ponies eating out of our hooves in fact!" Flim added. "But apparently we were doing too well," Flam continued, "it seems we caught the attention of some... unsavory types." "Unsavory types?" Trixie asked, "the only unsavory types Trixie sees here are you two." "Funny," Flam deadpanned, "but no. These ponies were bad news." "Seriously shady." "Definitely dubious." Quantifiably questionable." "Absolutely--" "Just get to the point!" Trixie cried -- ignoring the snickering fillies behind her. "They came to us after we had closed up shop for the day and offered a... job of sorts," Flim continued. "Said we had a way with words," Flam finished, "and that they could use a couple of charismatic ponies like us to spread some kind of message." "They told us we'd be paid quite a sum of bits for our services," Flim said, furrowing his brow as he remembered the conversation, "and we almost agreed to do it too." "And you didn't?" Sunset asked incredulously, "you two are always jumping at the chance to make bits." "I know," Flam agreed with a nod before putting on an uncharacteristic grimace, "but like we said, there was something about these ponies that rubbed my brother and I the wrong way." "For one, they wore these large concealing cloaks so we couldn't see their faces..." Flim added. "They tracked us down at night when there were hardly any other ponies around..." said Flam. "And when we refused, they started getting... aggressive," Flim finished with a shake of his head, "some of the business decisions we make may not always be on the up and up..." "But even we know when to back out of a shifty deal like that," Flam finished. "That is very peculiar..." Ancient Scroll mused, stroking his beard contemplatively, "no, I don't like the sound of that at all..." "What do you think those ponies wanted, Uncle Scroll?" Twilight asked worriedly. "Nothing good, I'm sure, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied. "That was our thought exactly," Flam said pointing to the old stallion, "Flim and I managed to beat a hasty retreat, but it turns out the shady fellows were more relentless than a pack of angry squirrels!" "Trixie can attest to how relentless angry squirrels can be," the blue filly muttered with a frown. "No matter where Flam and I went, they always managed to find us. It got to the point where my brother and I had to leave Detrot, which was a shame because our patented Shower-in-a-Can products were selling like hotcakes!" "Shower... in a can?" Twilight mouthed in bewilderment, "how does that... how would you even--" "We left the city," Flam continued, "but we still couldn't shake them. They ended up follow us from Detrot to Manehattan to Hoofington!" "We even tried to hide out in a little town called Ponyville thinking they wouldn't bother to look for us in such a backwater village..." Flim said. "But for some reason it was even worse there!" Flam cried, "the town was practically crawling with these guys!" Ancient Scroll hummed to himself in thought as he listened to the two brothers. "We eventually wound up in Canterlot where we finally managed to give em' the slip," Flim said with a shake of his head, "but we couldn't do any business there--" "Gee, I wonder why?" Sunset muttered. "--so we moved on, this time choosing somewhere a little more... isolated," Flam continued, ignoring the orange filly's remark, "and so here we are." "So when you were telling me how you wanted to 'go back to the basics' and 'work your way up from there'," Sunset responded with a frown, "was that all just a load of--" Sunset..." Ancient Scroll chided. Sunset folded her ears back but continued nonetheless. "Er, was that all a lie?" she finished. The two brothers glanced at each other briefly before looking back to Sunset. "Well..." Flam muttered, "not... exactly." "After all the galloping around my brother and I did," Flim said with an earnest frown, "we thought it'd be for the best if we stayed here in town for awhile to brush up on our skills." Flam nodded in agreement. "We actually just arrived here not too long ago, and we heard from a few ponies in town that there was a business guru somewhere around here," he looked down one of the streets as he spoke, "we figured a little sales advice couldn't hurt so we're keeping an eye out for him while we're here." "So if you two want to becoming better salesponies," Twilight asked, furrowing her brow, "why are you still out here apparently ripping ponies off?" "We're doing no such thing!" Flam replied with an offended scoff, "we're simply offering these ponies something they didn't know they needed until now!" Sunset glared at the two. "...We needed the bits to pay off the innkeeper," Flim admitted, "and with all the potential customers roaming about during such a festive event, we couldn't resist." "That's what I thought," Sunset replied with a nod before turning to Ancient Scroll, "Uncle Scroll, do you think you could--" "Say no more, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied snapping his saddlebags open and floating out a small pouch, "I'm already ahead of ya." The twins watched in confusion as the old stallion pulled out a hoofful of bits from the pouch and placed them on the empty stand in front of them. Ancient Scroll spoke up before either twin could ask about the bits. "I know the innkeeper here," Ancient Scroll said with a disapproving frown, "she's a nice old dog and doesn't deserve to be strung around like that. Take that and go pay her off, now," he jerked his head in the direction of the inn, "and don't let me catch you swindling anymore of the townsfolk out of their bits." He leaned forward an glared at the two nervously shifting unicorns. "Because I also know a griffon in the town guard and I'd be more than happy to introduce the two of you, got it?" "Yes sir!" Flim cried, grabbing the bits. "Understood, clear as crystal!" Flam agreed folding up the stand. They shoved the stand in the wagon and nodded to Ancient Scroll with a tip of their hats and matching nervous smiles. "A pleasure to meet you and the littles ones," they said simultaneously, "and it was a treat to see you again, Sunset!" "Don't be strangers now," Sunset replied as she waved to the two with a smirk. With that, the twins hitched themselves to the wagon and trotted off down the street. "Well that was certainly... an experience," Twilight muttered after a few moments of watching the two. "Good riddance as far as Trixie is concerned," the blue filly added with a snort, "if she had to listen to those two for moment longer, Trixie doesn't know what she would've done, but it wouldn't have been pleasant." Sunset just shook her head and turned to Ancient Scroll. "Thanks for that, Uncle Scroll," she said with a grateful smile, "they're good ponies deep down, they just need a... push in the right direction." "Ah, think nothing of it, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied with a chuckle, "I could see as much for myself." "Well now that that's over..." Twilight said opening up her saddlebag. She turned to Sunset with a toothy smile as she pulled out several books from the bag. "Let me show you what I got at the bookstand!"