//------------------------------// // 85. The Miracle Curative Tonic // Story: My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship // by Danieru //------------------------------// Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer were just about to end their work on the Iron Hammer. As usual, Star Twinkle was glad that another day of work was over and was about to leave but Steel Hammer was generous enough to give the stallion something to drink before he left. Of course, Star Twinkle accepted since he was quite exhausted. "Thanks," Star Twinkle said after he took a bottle of water from Steel Hammer. "No problem! Drink all up, I have my own refreshment right here!" He said before pulled out a little bottle. "Now is just the right time to test out that tonic!" He said before she drank from the little bottle that he was holding. "Tonic? What tonic?" Star Twinkle asked confused, wondering what the stallion was talking about. After taking a few sips from this so-called tonic, Steel Hammer looked up and seemed to wait for something. He then rushed at Star Twinkle without warning and showed him the top of his head. "Anything different?" Steel Hammer then asked curiously. "What? Am I supposed to see something?" Star Twinkle asked after he was done looking at Steel Hammer's mane. The stallion seemed disappointed and looked at the tonic. "Maybe I have to drink a little more of it in order for it to work?" He wondered. "I was sure that my mane would grow as soon as I would drink one bottle," Star Twinkle's curiosity was now peaked and he asked Steel Hammer to show this bottle to him for a second. He inspected it a little and was shocked by the name of this tonic as soon as he laid eyes on it. "The Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic?" Star Twinkle read out loud in shock. "You mean like in Flim and Flam?" He then asked Steel Hammer confused. The stallion nodded happily in response. "This tonic will cure everything! Pretty neat, huh?" He said with a wide smile on his face. Still, that didn't answer one question. "If it is supposed to cure stuff, then why are you drinking it to make your mane grow?" Star Twinkle asked confused. "Oh, Star Twinkle," Steel Hammer replied while he shook his head. "This tonic can do much more than just cure you. It can, make you younger again, grow hair, make your better, and even make you grow taller!" The stallion explained highly excited, praising the tonic more and more. But Star Twinkle had a hard time believing that. It sounded almost too good to be true. Now if someone like Zecora would come around and offered a potion like that, then Star Twinkle would maybe believe it. But the problem was, it was the Flim Flam Brothers who sold this. "You do remember that those two ponies tried to take over Sweet Apple Acres not too long ago, right? How can you even trust them?" He said, making Steel Hammer remember that just now. "But...their song was pretty catchy..." was the only thing that he could say at this very moment. Star Twinkle groaned as soon as he heard that. "Show me where they sell this so-called tonic," he said before he walked away to see for himself what this was all about. Steel Hammer did show him where to find the two salesponies and Star Twinkle was immediately on his way to them to see himself what this was all about. A little later... It didn't take long until Star Twinkle arrived at the place where the tonic was sold. In the middle of a nearby forest, there was a circus tent where the Flim Flam Brothers were located at. As soon as the stallion entered the tent, he quickly saw a big crowd in front of him who were all watching the two brothers dancing and singing. They most likely did that to promote their tonic for some ponies who visited them for the first time, just like Star Twinkle. He decided to listen to their singing so that he could hear himself what this tonic could supposedly do. "It cures the reins, the spurs, and the Clydesdale fur blight," Flim sang "Hooferia and horsentery cured in just a night," Flam sang. "You've got swollen hooves and hindquarters or terrible bridle-bit cleft," "Saunter sitz and gallop plop will give your tail some heft," "Mane loss, hay fever, or terrible tonsillitis," "You heard it here, folks -- this is the only place in all of Equestria you'll find it!" As soon as their singing was over, the whole crowd was cheering for the two stallions and the two ponies quickly took this opportunity to sell some of their tonics. Star Twinkle couldn't believe how many ponies would fall for that. This tonic was obviously fake, especially since it was the Flim Flam brothers who sold it. But still, everypony was believing it and the two brothers made a ton of money by tricking them all. Of course, Star Twinkle wanted to do something but his word was against the two brothers and almost everypony inside this tent. Besides, he didn't have actual proof that this tonic was fake so he couldn't just speak out like this. It was pretty hard for the stallion to figure out what to do in this situation and tried to think but one mare interrupted his thoughts. "Please, don't tell me that you are here to buy some of those darn tonics?" Star Twinkle turned around and saw that it was Applejack, who was giving him a disappointing look. She probably thought that he was here to buy one tonic as well so Star Twinkle quickly explained. "No, I just came here to see what this is all about after Steel Hammer told me about this mysterious tonic that supposedly can cure everything," Applejack seemed surprised to hear this. "So you don't believe in this tonic either?" She asked, to which Star Twinkle nodded in response. They both then walked outside because things were getting a little too loud inside the tent. As soon as they stepped outside, Applejack released a relieved sigh. "And here I thought, I was the only one. Granny Smith bought some bottles and now she is jumping around like a young filly! She even overcame her fear of swimming after such a long time!" "But that's not because of the tonic...or is it?" Star Twinkle asked confused after he heard this story. "I'll doubt it!" Applejack replied without a doubt in her mind. "Not if it is those ponies who sell them!" She said while she pointed towards the two brothers, who didn't seem to notice how the two Earth Ponies talked about them. "There is no way that Granny's sudden change has something to do with the tonic that those two are selling! And if Granny hurts herself because she believes their lies then I have to do something to prevent that from happening," she said determined to expose the two brother's lies to everypony. "But how?" Star Twinkle replied. "We can't exactly prove if that tonic is or isn't working so what shall we do?" He asked, getting back to the same problem that he was facing a few minutes ago. Applejack was rubbing her chin and began to think but she shortly had a very confused expression on her face, much to Star Twinkle's confusion. "Wait a minute..." she then said quietly. Star Twinkle had no idea what this was about and turned around. There was a stallion walking out of the tent. He had a Light turquoise gray coat, a cobalt bluish-gray mane, and pale light blue eyes. He was also wearing a hat, a pair of glasses and blue dungarees. His Cutie Mark consisted of two silver bits. For some reason, Applejack kept staring at him for some unknown reason. "What's wrong?" Star Twinkle asked, not knowing where Applejack's sudden confusion came from. Applejack then widened her eyes in her realization. "It's him!" She simply said. "Who?"`Star Twinkle asked while he kept looking at the stallion, trying to find out what got Applejack so confused all of the sudden. Applejack then finally explained. "It's the same pony than before! He came walking into the tent with a pair of crutches the last time but after he tasted one of the Flim Flam Brothers tonic he was fine again," "But if he was cured then why did he visit them again?" Star Twinkle asked confused. Applejack then stepped up closer to the stallion with a serious expression on her face. "That's what I like to know," she said determined to get some answers. The stallion didn't notice the two ponies so far but as soon as he did, mainly because of Applejack, he began to shiver and got really nervous. Applejack didn't even say a word yet and the stallion immediately ran away towards the other side of the tent. "Hey, wait!" Star Twinkle exclaimed, now that he was completely sure that there was something fishy going on here. The two Earth Ponies followed the stallion all around the tent and luckily the chase was really short because the stallion decided to escape into, what looked like to be the backstage area of the Flim Flam Brothers. The stallion quickly found out that there was nowhere to run to and he found himself cornered. This was the perfect opportunity for the two ponies to ask some questions. "Now hold it right there, Mister...?" Applejack started before she realized that she didn't know the stallion's name. The stallion was really nervous but he still managed to introduce himself. "Shill. Silver Shill. Ooh, what do you two want?" He said while he was shaking heavily out of fear that the two Earth Ponies in front of him would do something to him. Star Twinkle realized how nervous the stallion was and tried to calm him down. Not only because he didn't want to scare him but also to make him a little easier to interrogate. "Don't worry, we don't want to hurt you or anything, we just want to ask you some questions," Star Twinkle said as calm as possible. He had no idea if it managed to calm the stallion down though. Regardless of how nervous the stallion was, Applejack still went on ahead and asked her questions. "Our Granny took some tonic and we want to know how it works," she said, causing the stallion to shake again. "Granny couldn't swim before, and now she can. Just like you couldn't walk and now you can. But what are you doin' back here? I mean, if the tonic cured you and all..." While Applejack asked her questions, Star Twinkle took a look around. All the things that were lying around in this place started to confuse him. There were a pair of crutches, multiple wigs, multiple pairs of glasses, some random clothes. He started to wonder what this all had to do with the tonic that the Flim Flam Brothers were selling. But then it suddenly struck him. "He is part of the act!" He then said, much to Applejack's confusion at first. "He is dressing up for the Flim Flam Brothers and pretends to be some random pony! You know, to make everypony believe that the tonic is working!" He explained. Applejack quickly turned towards the Silver Shill again. "Is that true!?" She asked, demanding an explanation from the stallion. Silver Shill seemed to get more and more nervous the more questions he was asked. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and fiddled around with some kind of machine that stood right behind him, causing it to create some smoke. This allowed the stallion to cause enough confusion to escape again. Luckily, Star Twinkle managed to still see where the stallion was escaping to. "Over there!" He said, causing Applejack to regain sight of the stallion as well. This time, the Silver Shill decided to run inside the tent from the front entrance. Star Twinkle and Applejack followed him inside. There was a bunch of ponies walking out so the Flim Flam Brothers must have been done with their little show. The two Earth Ponies entered the tent and quickly saw Silver Shill who was now hiding behind the two sales-ponies "Well, if it isn't our most favorite Apple!" Flim said as soon as he saw Applejack entering the tent. "And...whatever that pony's name was..." Flam felt like adding into this. "Star Twinkle..." Star Twinkle said after he heard that lack of respect from the brother. But the brothers just shrugged their shoulders. "What brings you to our humble abode?" Flam then asked. Applejack decided to get straight to the point since the two didn't seem to have changed one bit after their last visit in Ponyville. "You two charlatans sold my Granny a bottle of tonic, and now she's off actin' like a filly again," she said. The two brothers only exchanged a brief look at each other. "What's so bad about that?" Flim replied without a sign of regret on his face. Applejack then continued. "If she keeps gallavantin' around like a yearlin', she's apt to drop from exhaustion or worse! What's more, I know for a fact that your friend here is dressin' up as a different pony every time so he can pretend to be cured!" She pointed out, which caused the stallion to slowly sneak away while this conversation was going on. It was not like he was needed anymore anyway. But Flim and Flam were not intimidated one bit by Applejack's words and kept smiling throughout the whole conversation. "Well, well, well, that's quite an accusation," Flam replied with a sneaky smile on his face. "But let's say that it's true..." Flim added. "Hypothetically..." "Theoretically..." "As I understand, your Granny was a famous aquapony," Flam then brought up. "The star of the show, once upon a time," Flim added. "But hasn't set so much as a hoof in the water since," Star Twinkle seemed to be the only one who didn't know about that and looked at Applejack confused but he still wanted to know what they were getting at so he didn't interrupt them and listened. "Until today, that's right," Applejack admitted, even if she didn't like it. That's exactly the response that the two ponies wanted to hear, judging from the smiles that they were throwing at each other. "Well, then even if our tonic were nothing more than a mixture of apple juice and beet leaves..." Flim said. "Hypothetically..." Flam added. "Theoretically..." Flim added. They actually were so sure of themselves that they actually made one of those "tonics" right in front of the two Earth Ponies, as if they wanted to pour salt into the injury. All they did to create this tonic was squeezing an apple and a beet leaf, which was enough proof for them to say that this tonic was fake. "The fact is that Granny is happier now than before she tried it," Flam said with a smug smile on his face. Applejack carefully thought about their words and had to admit that what they were saying was true, even if she didn't want to admit it. Star Twinkle, however, didn't like where this conversation was heading to and tried to stop all this. "This is not only about Granny Smith. You are tricking all kinds of ponies like that!" He pointed out. But the two brothers didn't seem to mind this fact and ignored what Star Twinkle said unless it would help them in any kind of way. They also focused a lot more on Applejack instead. "He is right, you know, there are much more ponies who are much happier now!" Flim said. "But the question is...do you really want to be the pony who takes all that happiness away?" Flam added while he held a bottle of their precious tonic right in front of her eyes. "I..." Applejack was only able to say after she put more thought into those words. She then looked over to Star Twinkle, who was just waiting for her to finally get serious again. The mare looked back and forth to the brothers and Star Twinkle. She clearly had difficulties deciding what would be best for everypony. After taking a deep breath, however, her mind was all cleared up and she gave her answer. "Honestly, Star Twinkle... as long as it works, I... don't suppose it really matters," Applejack then said with some concern on her face. "What!?" Star Twinkle exclaimed after hearing the complete opposite of what he expected her to say. Star Twinkle wanted, of course, an answer but Applejack simply walked away from the scene and didn't mind him at all, much to the stallion's shock. "That's the spirit!" Flim said in success. "Come back anytime!" Flam said as he waved at Star Twinkle with a sneaky smile on his face as if he wanted to laugh at the stallion's attempt to stop them. Star Twinkle would have loved to give the stallion a piece of his mind after seeing that but first, he had to follow Applejack to find out what she was thinking by deciding to let them further sell their tonic. A few meters away from the tent, Applejack stopped and waited for Star Twinkle. She was probably well aware that he was about to say some things to her and just prepared herself for that. "What was that about, Applejack?" Star Twinkle immediately asked as soon as Applejack gave him a chance to talk with him. "Well, you heard it yourself, I think it's okay for them to sell their little wonder tonic," she said while she looked down at the ground, which only proved that she didn't really believe herself what she was saying right now. "But it isn't a real tonic!" Star Twinkle replied frustrated. "Those two ponies are just telling everypony things that they want to hear! Besides, what if Granny Smith hurts herself? Isn't that why you got worried in the first place?" He pointed out in his confusion. "I know what I said!" Applejack replied in her frustration as if she wanted to tell Star Twinkle to tone it down a little. "The thing is just...what those two said was true! They maybe sell a tonic that doesn't even work but it took away granny's fear of water and made her feel young again! And I do not intend to make her sad again!" She said in a very serious tone, showing how stubborn she could be at times. Without any further words, Applejack just left Star Twinkle on the spot. She just refused to listen to what Star Twinkle had to say so he decided to not say anything. He didn't want things to turn out like this but if Applejack simply refused to change her decision to expose those sales-ponies then there was nothing more what he could do. On the next day... Star Twinkle went to the tent of the Flim Flam Brothers again. He looked over how everypony was still buying their tonics and just couldn't believe how they both were successful with all this. All Star Twinkle could do was watching this. "I don't believe this..." Star Twinkle said as he slowly walked up to the tent to see the two brothers selling their tonic to every pony that was foolish enough to fall for this little scam. Star Twinkle's eyes even widened further after he saw somepony familiar walking away from the crowd now. "You got to be kidding me..." he said as he watched his boss, Steel Hammer walking past him. "This should be enough to get me a nice mane!" He said as he walked away with a few bottles on his back and with a wide smile on his face, not noticing how he walked past Star Twinkle in his excitement. "Oh, boy..." Star Twinkle said as he watched that. Once he was close enough, he could even hear how the Flim Flam Brothers were promoting their fake tonic. "Welcome, friends, and step right up! The next show starts in five minutes!" Flam announced. "But why not buy your tonic now and avoid the rush?" Flim advised, which of course, caused everypony to start walking towards them to buy their tonics. However, their little promotion was interrupted by some eager customer. "We'll take the whole case!" Granny Smith said before she threw a whole sack of bits right at the two brothers' hooves. Granny Smith was accompanied by the rest of her family, including Applejack who could only put on a nervous smile as soon as she made eye contact with Star Twinkle who just looked at her confused. Of course, everypony was surprised to hear, that Granny Smith was willing to pay so much money for this tonic. "Are you saying this stuff actually works?" One mare immediately asked. "It seems to work for Granny," Applejack flat out lied in the mare's face. That was exactly what the two Flim Flam Brothers wanted to hear in order to make their tonic even more successful. "You heard it here first, folks! Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic is Granny Smith-tested and Applejack-approved!" Flim announced. But this was enough for Star Twinkle. Those two were eager to make even more money out of this situation and if he didn't stop them now, then who knows much worse the situation will become. Star Twinkle jumped on the table of the Flim Flam Brothers raised his voice. "Don't believe them! This tonic is fake!" He said out loud to the crowd of ponies in front of him, who were now looking at the stallion confused. "Those two just want to earn money by selling you some tonic that doesn't cure anything! They are tricking you!" Hearing Star Twinkle say those words, actually made the Flim Flam Brothers a little nervous, in fact, they began to sweat a little and feared that they were ruined now. Star Twinkle actually looked back at the two and gave them a victorious smile. Of course, it was accompanied by some inner laughter in his mind as well. But...that smile wouldn't last for long after he heard what the crowd had to say about his words. "Liar!" One stallion said from inside the crowd. "Huh?" Star Twinkle replied confused after he looked back at the crowd to see nothing but angry faces in front of him. "Yeah! Applejack said it works!" Another stallion said. "And Applejack never lies!" A mare added angrily. "If Applejack says it works, that's good enough for me!" Another mare added. "But..." Star Twinkle said before he was booed by nearly everypony in the crowd. Suddenly, Star Twinkle was now the bad one. Nopony even remotely believed what he was saying. Needless to say, the Flim Flam Brothers were relieved of how things turned out and were now the ones who smiled victoriously. All that was left to do for Star Twinkle was leaving the scene while everypony talked about him. "Well, now I remember why I don't like crowds..." Star Twinkle mumbled under his breath as he walked away slowly. Applejack felt really bad about that but she felt as if she talked with Star Twinkle, things would only get worse. "What is the matter with him?" Granny Smith asked towards Applejack confused. "...I don't know..." Applejack simply replied as she watched Star Twinkle walking away from the scene. On the next day... Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer were both visiting something called "The Ponyville Swim Meet" which was a swimming competition from what Star Twinkle could gather. They were only there because Steel Hammer mentioned that he wanted to go there. He also said that Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were entering it, which was the main reason why Star Twinkle wanted to come with Steel Hammer. He also brought up that Granny Smith was once a famous Aqua Pony, something that Flim and Flam mentioned before. Because Granny Smith was most likely drinking the tonic even now, Star Twinkle got worried that she would hurt herself, which is why he decided to come and watch the show to keep a close eye on everything. That is if he wasn't distracted by some minor things... "For the last time, Steel Hammer...no, I don't see any progress," Star Twinkle said to his boss, who was showing him his mane once more in hope that something changed. "That's strange...I drank like a dozen bottles and there is still no mane growing on my head..." the stallion wondered as he inspected one of the bottles further. "Well...since you already drink so many bottles...maybe this so-called "Magical Curative Tonic" isn't as curative as they say?" Star Twinkle said, hoping that it would at least make Steel Hammer realize that this tonic was fake. "Nonsense!" Steel Hammer replied. "It only means that I haven't taken enough of it!" He added determined before he raised his hoof the get the attention of somepony. "Hey! One more Curative Tonic please!" He shouted. Star Twinkle was not sure who this shout was directed at until he saw Silver Shill, who was walking around selling more of the Flim Flam Tonic. "Coming right up!" He said before he walked up the visitor seats, where Star Twinkle and Steel Hammer were located at. "Here you go!" He said before he gave Steel Hammer a bottle in exchange for one bit. As soon as Silver Shill noticed that Star Twinkle was sitting next to him, he got a little nervous again, mainly because Star Twinkle only gave the stallion a mean glare. "What are you doing here?" Star Twinkle asked while not breaking his glare one bit. Silver Shill then explained. "Oh, things are going so well, Flim and Flam gave me a promotion! Just made my first bit as a salespony," he said while he represented the bit that he got from Steel Hammer. "No more costumes for this pony," he said proudly, while he ironically wore a black and white striped shirt right now. "This is more of a uniform," he said after he noticed how Star Twinkle was looking at his getup. "Going well?" Star Twinkle asked. "Yeah, look!" Silver Shill replied before he pointed towards Flim and Flam who continued to sell their tonics at the very moment, only a few meters away on the other side of the pool. "Flim Flam's Magical Curative Tonic!" Flam said. "Get your Applejack-approved tonic! Granny Smith drinks it – why shouldn't you?" Flim added. Star Twinkle could only groan in frustration after he saw how shamelessly those two continued to trick everypony. They probably showed up at this event because Applejack and Granny Smith were not too far away either, which only benefited them. Applejack, of course, didn't like that her name was used for something like that and could only smile nervously after her name fell. He then turned towards Silver Shill one more time. "But don't tell me that you also don't realize that what you are doing is wrong," he asked in order to find out if he was a ruthless as the two brothers as well. "Actually, I used to wonder if I was doing the right thing. You know, pretending to be cured, basically lying to folks about this tonic. But thanks to Applejack, I realized that sometimes honesty isn't the best policy," he explained with a smile on his face before he walked away from the two ponies, ready to sell more tonics. Star Twinkle could only release a frustrated sigh after he heard that. Applejack's name and her reputation, to be honest, were apparently enough to change one ponies life, which in this case was a really bad thing. "Hey! I think they are starting now!" Steel Hammer said, not noticing the frustration that Star Twinkle felt at this very moment. Both Apple Bloom and Granny Smith were now jumping into the pool and showed their routine for this contest. Up until now, Star Twinkle didn't really pay attention to any contestants but he figured that nopony seemed to blow away the crowd so far. But Star Twinkle had no idea what would define a good swimming routine. Granny Smith was a good swimmer back in the day so whatever she was going to do was probably good so he just waited for the performance. Apple Bloom both entered the pool and began. First, they dived down and raised their legs elegantly into the air. They were slowly spinning, diving and made all kinds of figures in the water, all of them were really pretty to look at. Granny Smith clearly knew what she was doing and she must have taught some of her tricks to Apple Bloom. But the thing that calmed down Star Twinkle the most, is that nothing went wrong at all. Applejack, who watched the competition from the sidelines, was really impressed by this performance but also relieved that nothing went wrong. Soon the whole audience was cheering for the two ponies. Shortly after, the judges gave the two ponies the trophy and made them the winners of this competition. "That was quite good, don't you think?" Star Twinkle asked Steel Hammer, who was still looking at his mane to see if something had changed after he drank that one bottle from before. "Did you even pay attention to the performance?" Star Twinkle asked. "No time! Need more tonic. Where is that one pony?" Steel Hammer said before he left his seat to look for Silver Shill again, in order to get more tonic. Star Twinkle could only shake his head because of this behavior. He started to shake once the thought crossed his mind that there were probably more ponies acting like him because of this stupid tonic. "So you came too," then a female voice said, that came next to Star Twinkle. It was Applejack, who had a pretty uncomfortable look on her face as soon as Star Twinkle looked back at her. "Looks like Granny Smith didn't overdo it and actually won the competition," she said while avoiding eye contact with Star Twinkle and playing around with her hat. "Yeah, looks like it," Star Twinkle replied. The mare then sat down next to him. "And she still thinks that it is because of that darn tonic that those two sell to her," "Looks like it," Star Twinkle replied. Applejack was aware that Star Twinkle kept his answers short and got even more uncomfortable. Eventually, she felt really bad and just got straight to what she had in mind. "I know you think that I am a horrible pony because I lied to everypony but all I thought about was to keep granny happy!" She almost burst out in her frustration. Star Twinkle didn't expect her to say that and got a little confused but he still had an idea from where she was coming from. "I know that Applejack," he replied but before he could say anything else, Applejack continued. "Still, even with everything going well, I have the feeling that I am hurting her and everypony else more and more without them realizing it. And it makes me feel miserable!" Star Twinkle knew that Applejack didn't like to lie to everypony but he had no idea that it was making her feel this bad. Then again, it was Applejack, the most honest pony in Ponyville. This must have been especially hard for her. But even if it was hard for her, there was only one piece of advice that Star Twinkle could give her. "You know what to do about that, right? Tell everypony the truth," he simply said. "Even if it means to take away everyponies happiness?" Applejack asked. "You get blamed either way if somepony finds out that the tonic is fake," Star Twinkle replied bluntly. "I guess you're right..." Applejack replied as she looked down at the ground. "Oh, and don't worry..." Star Twinkle said, causing Applejack to look back at him confused. "I don't think you're a pony terrible at all, Applejack," he added with a grin on his face. Applejack finally began to smile again and even chuckled for a moment. "You sure know what to say to make somepony feel better again," she said before she hugged Star Twinkle. "Alright! Now I will go down and expose their little tonic before Granny Smith hurts herself!" She said determined as she looked over to the Flim Flam Brothers, ready to end their business. However, that had to wait because Star Twinkle just noticed something bad. "I think you need to hurry up for that!" He said before he pointed up into the air towards the very big springboard. Granny Smith was just now climbing up the springboard, probably so that she could jump down from it. Of course, that was a pretty bad idea and Star Twinkle and Applejack quickly ran towards the springboard as well. Apple Bloom was nearby so she probably knew what was going. "What in blazes does she think she's doin'?!" Applejack asked her sister. Apple Bloom quickly explained. "Granny's gonna break the Equestria high divin' record!" She said excited, without realizing in what danger Granny Smith was just now. "The what!?" Star Twinkle asked confused. Apple Bloom explained again. "After realizing that she could anything after drinking Flim and Flam's tonic, she decided to attempt to do this! She is gonna jump from all the way up there into this," she said while she pointed into a very tiny pool of water, that was barely big enough to fit even Apple Bloom inside. Needless to say, Applejack broke out in a panic as she saw, not to mention after she looked up and saw Granny Smith preparing herself to jump any second now. "Star Twinkle! Get up there and stop her! I'll go and climb this thing!" She said in a panic before she ran towards the springboard as well. "R-Right!" Star Twinkle replied before he transformed into a Pegasus to fly up the springboard, in order to stop Granny Smith from jumping. And thankfully he was not a second too late because Granny Smith was just about to jump if Star Twinkle didn't suddenly appear in front of her. "Uh...how about you don't jump down here?" Star Twinkle said, in an attempt to stop her. "Would you kindly step aside? I'm trying to set a record here!" Granny Smith said a little angrily. "Besides...since when can you fly?" She added confused about Star Twinkle's transformation. "There is no way that you can do a jump like that because of some tonic!" Star Twinkle said. "Nonsense," Granny Smith replied before she pulled out mentioned tonic and drank the whole bottle in one sweep. "Here you go!" She then said before she threw the bottle at Star Twinkle, which caused him to catch the bottle while losing his balance a little. Then before he knew it, Granny Smith jumped right past him without a care in her life. "No!" Star Twinkle said in shock after he saw the old mare falling down towards the ground. But luckily, a rope flew right past him and towards the mare. It was Applejack, who tried to catch Granny Smith before she would hit the ground. Thank goodness she did that... Applejack managed to get a hold of Granny Smith's leg and prevented her to land face-first into the pool. Star Twinkle and Applejack both released a relieved sigh after that situation was taken care of. However, everypony else was surprised about why the two went so far to stop her, especially Granny Smith. "Now what in tarnation did you do that for?!" Granny Smith asked bothered before she freed herself from the rope again and walked safely on the ground. "That was the most fool-pony thing I've ever seen anypony do in all my life!" Applejack replied with a serious tone in her mind before she climbed down the springboard again. Star Twinkle also dived down from the air and had to agree with Applejack. "She is right, you could have seriously hurt yourself!" He said before he ended his transformation again. But Granny Smith didn't think so. "Oh, quit your fussin'! I had enough tonic to do a dive ten times as high!" She claimed confidently. "Twenty times, by my count," Flim had the nerve to add. "Thirty, with a favorable breeze," Flam added. But Star Twinkle heard enough of those two and briefly gave them a piece of his mind. "Aaaah, shut up!" He simply said which seemed to be enough to make them go quiet for good. Applejack shortly joined the ponies on the ground and also shared what she had in mind but all she saw was Granny Smith, drinking more of this tonic. Applejack was happy to see this because every time she would drink more of that tonic, she would further blame herself for getting Granny Smith in this situation in the first place. This had to stop, this much Applejack knew. As soon as Star Twinkle could see the regret in Applejack's face, all of a sudden, a voice was talking to him just like multiple times before. "Things can be a little bit easier if you just bend the truth a little...but I rather want to live a harder life then being dishonest to my friends..." Then, Star Twinkle's eyes began to shine in a red-colored light for a brief moment. Shortly after, Applejack's eyes were shining in a rainbow-colored light. After that, Applejack could no continue this lie and just flat out told everypony the truth. "I hate to disappoint everypony, but there's no way Granny could have made that dive because this tonic is a fake!" Applejack said, much to the surprise of everypony. Of course, everypony was shocked to hear that, especially since Applejack approved the tonic, to begin with. "But you gave it your stamp of approval!" One pony immediately pointed out. "Are you saying you lied?" Another pony asked confused. As if there wasn't enough confusion or shock in the crowd, as soon as Applejack gave her answer, the crowd was shocked once more. "...I am," Applejack simply said with some regret in her voice. Soon the whole crowd was looking at her with judging eyes and whispered words to each other. It was kind like back then when Star Twinkle was saying that the tonic was fake. He could see that Applejack was feeling bad about all that so he decided to take her side before she ended up getting booed like he was before. "But she didn't mean to!" Star Twinkle said once he saw everypony blaming Applejack for all this. "She knew that hiding the truth was wrong but she also saw how much happier all of you were so she couldn't bring herself to say the truth!" He said, which caused Applejack to smile at him in gratitude. Applejack removed her hat and apologized as well. "I just hope with time, I can win back everypony's trust," she also said with some heavy regrets in her voice. With this being said, there was still one thing that bothered some of the ponies and Apple Bloom decided to be the one to point that out. "But if the tonic is a fake, then how come Granny can swim again, and what about all that aquabatics stuff we just did?" She asked confused. But Applejack already knew the answer to that and explained. "I reckon sometimes you can forget what you're capable of, and it just takes a little extra confidence to remember that it was inside of you all along," she said with a happy smile on her face towards Granny Smith. However, that smile quickly vanished as soon as she looked over to the Flim Flam Brothers with a glare on her face. "But tellin' ponies your tonic can do things it can't is just wrong!" She said towards the two sales-ponies. But of course, the two ponies didn't seem to learn anything... "But you just said it boosts confidence!" Flim said, quickly taking the opportunity to use Applejack's words against her. "And that's not all it does," Flam added before he was about to list up some more things if somepony wouldn't have interrupted him in the middle of his sentence. "Yes, it is!" Silver Shill said, who was watching how everything transpired in front of him. "In fact, it's not a tonic at all! I know, 'cause I helped make it!" He said, which caused the Flim Flam Brothers to get nervous now. "Watching Applejack save Granny and then admit to lying, well, that made me realize I was making ponies believe in a thing that just wasn't so!" He explained. "Believin' in somethin' can help you do amazin' things," Applejack admitted. "But if that belief is based on a lie, eventually it's gonna lead to real trouble," she added, hinting at the Flim Flam Brothers of course. Silver Shill walked up to Applejack so that he could further thank her for opening his eyes. He was clearly regretting what he did to everypony as much as she did. "Thank you, Applejack," he said in gratitude before he pulled out a bit from his pockets. "I got this through dishonest means. That was a mistake I won't be making again! I'd like you to have it, as a reminder of how you helped me finally see the truth," he said before he gave Applejack that one bit that he had previously earned. "I don't know..." Applejack said with second thoughts. She clearly didn't want to accept money that previously belonged to somepony else. "Oh, don't worry," Silver Shill then said. "I'll track down the pony I sold that worthless tonic to and give him another bit to replace this one! Honest," he assured. And that wouldn't take long because the mentioned pony already showed up on the spot. "That would be me," Steel Hammer said with a serious tone in his voice, that made Silver Shill a little nervous. However, Steel Hammer wasn't angry at him at all but instead, he was actually a little sad. "So this tonic won't make my mane grow one bit?" He then asked while he held one of the bottles in his hoof. "I'm afraid, no," Star Twinkle said. Steel Hammer lowered his head in disappointment after he heard that so Star Twinkle put a hoof on the stallion's shoulder to cheer him up again. In the meantime, Applejack apologized to Granny Smith as well, for lying to her. "I'm sorry, Granny. I hope this doesn't mean you'll stop swimmin'," "Why in tarnation would I do that?" Granny Smith replied much to the surprise of some. "I just can't believe those two sales ponies had me believin' I could near fly!" She said as if she was confused about how she could believe those two ponies in the first place. But as soon as the two were mentioned, everypony quickly realized one thing. "Wait! Where did they go!?" Star Twinkle said as soon as he realized that Flim and Flam had already escaped from the scene. Of course, it was bad that they were gone now, especially, after they took so much money from everypony but then again, some were probably happy that they were gone for good now. In the end, everypony agreed to not bother with those two anymore. Later... Everything somehow ended well without anypony getting hurt in the process and everypony quickly decided to forget that those two sales-ponies showed up and tricked everypony. There was not much reason for Star Twinkle to do that, however, since he never fell for their tonic in the first place but still, he was also relieved and decided to call it a day and go home. "Wait, Star Twinkle!" Applejack then said as she ran towards Star Twinkle. Judging from how fast she was running towards him, what she was about to say was rather important. "Yes?" Star Twinkle asked while Applejack was catching her breath for a moment. "I'll never said thank you for saving Granny Smith up there on the springboard," she said. "That's what you came here for?" Star Twinkle asked confused. "Besides, I wasn't much of a help anyway. Granny Smith still jumped past me," he pointed out. "Well, I don't think so!" Applejack replied. "Things would have gone really bad if I caught granny a second too late," "I suppose," Star Twinkle simply replied. But Applejack wanted to hear a different answer and just chuckled in response. "You really don't like to be the hero of the day, huh?" She said jokingly, causing Star Twinkle to lower his eyebrows in confusion. Applejack then put a hoof on his shoulder and smiled warmly at him. "Because for me, you are," she said happily. Star Twinkle felt a little embarrassed after he saw Applejack acting like that. "T-thank you," he replied while he looked away in embarrassment. Applejack then moved away again. "I'll better get home now. I still need to write down what I learned today in our little journal," she said. Star Twinkle was curious about that and asked if he could hear it so Applejack told him happily. "I learned that bein' honest sure gets hard when it seems like the truth might hurt somepony you care about. But I think believin' a lie can end up hurtin' even more. Maybe some ponies don't care about that – but I sure ain't one of them," "Sounds good to me," Star Twinkle replied happily. The two then said their goodbyes to each other walked home again. Star Twinkle felt a little weird to be called a hero. He actually thought about those words of Applejack and couldn't help but to feel a little embarrassed. But he then decided to let it go. Tomorrow would be another day where he was just one normal pony again. And that is the way, that he liked better... Later that night... It was one of those nights where Star Twinkle laid on his bed to look a the ceiling of his room. There was one thing that bothered him, one thing that bothered him for a while now. "Those voices..." Star Twinkle said as he kept his eyes on the ceiling. "I heard a voice again, today..." He was, of course, referring to the voice that he heard before Applejack told everybody the truth. This was not the first time it happened, in fact, there were four more times where he remembered how that happened. It happened when Rarity realized how bad she was treating her friends, back in Manehattan... Or in Rainbow Falls when Rainbow Dash realized that she was letting her friends hanging... Then there was that time when Pinkie Pie realized that she was making Rainbow Dash sad because of her competition with Cheese Sandwich... Or right before Fluttershy realized that she was hurting the Breezies by showing them too much kindness... And today, it was right before Applejack realized that she was hurting everypony by not telling them the truth... Star Twinkle didn't know what that was all about but he saw one connection. It was all right before everypony realized a mistake they made. But why that would make Star Twinkle hear voices in his head was still beyond him. Eventually, after trying to come up with an answer, the stallion figured that he can't find any so he just tried to ignore it. There was no point in thinking about things that he wouldn't understand anyway. But that doesn't mean that he was happy to not know the answer...