//------------------------------// // Step 1: Apples, Step 2: ???, Step 3: Profit! // Story: What if Flim and Flam Were Raised by Granny? // by Triple-Rainbow //------------------------------// Crisp sunlight bounced into Flim’s eyes as he cleaned a new iron pan, sending a glare up to Celestia’s hot ball of gas before passing the soap covered pan to Flam to rinse off. All the while, the two traded ideas back and forth about their latest invention. “Magic propulsion using the kinetic energy of an enchanted bouncing ball,” Flam suggested. “Casing inside would wear out sooner or later, assuming the ball doesn’t reach mach speed and burn itself to a crisp,” Flim retorted as he scrubbed a glass in his telekinetic grip. “Alright, what about using a coal burning stove for the power?” “Might work, but having that be connected to the machine would probably boil any of the apple cider we make,” the clean shaven brother pointed out. “Hamster wheel?” “Did you honestly forget the last time we made Fluttershy upset?” Flim asked incredulously. “I didn't, but it could be worth it for that picture with Celestia,” Flam argued. “Hmmm… Put a pin in it for now. What else ya got?” “What'cha doooin’?” Apple Bloom asked, suddenly appearing between the two brothers without any warning. After fumbling with one of Granny’s favorite mugs for a few moments, Flim tentatively set it down on the counter before shooting Apple Bloom with a disapproving look. “Bloom, what’d we say about sneaking up on ponies?” “Only ta do it ta suckers!” She happily cheered. “What? Nooo! We said not too!” Flam said loudly, before quietly whispering to Apple Bloom. “Good job on remembering, Apps.” “Thanks. So, what's goin' on?”
 “Not much. Just thinking about how to make the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6,001 not blow up,” Flam answered, earning a light slap with a wet rag from Flim. “Didn’t Granny say yur not allowed ta fiddle with yer doohickies?” The youngest apple asked. “Technically, she just told us to be safe, and to keep you away from it, you little trouble maker, you,” Flim said, booping his little sister’s muzzle with a sud soaked hoof. “But Granny said we need ta do things by tradition,” she pointed out, rubbing off the few bubbles that stuck to her muzzle as Flim began to clean another plate. “Tradition’s good an’ all, Bloom. But, sometimes, things need to change. I mean, do unicorns still raise and lower the sun?” He asked, earning a head shake from his little sister. “Nope. The Princess’ been doin’ it.” “Exactly! Princess Celestia can do the job of ten unicorns, heck, a hundred unicorns. It’s about time we make something that makes our job easier too.” “Ya wanna make another Princess Celestia?” Apple Bloom asked with a tilted head. Flim and Flam couldn’t help but snort at that “No, we just wanna make something to make it easier on the farm,” Flim said. “Something that puts Sweet Apple Acres on the map!” Flam added gleefully. “Believe us, Apps. By the time you’re our age, you’ll understand. Progress has no breaks!” “Oh, we’ll probably need to replace the breaks on the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6001, too,” Flim stated, passing the plate over to his brother to rinse off. “What if I quit school ta help out?” Apple Bloom asked. “No,” the brothers answered immediately. “No way.” “No how.” “Not in a million years.” 
“Never,” they chorused. “But come on! I can help, I’ma big filly!” She tried to argue, earning a pair of head shakes from her older brothers. “Not gonna happen, Bloom,” Flim said. “You’re going to school and that’s final, no questions.” “Except the ones you ask your teacher, Apps,” Flam helpfully added. “But I don’t need school! I can write, an’ spell, an’ I can do math! Remember when ya asked me ta help ya fix the patio?” Applebloom asked, hoping to convince her stoic brothers. “That’s different, Apps. Ya need to go to school to learn and make friends.” “Flam’s right, Bloom. Flam and I went to school, and look at how smart we turned out,” Flim boasted. “Then why’d ya stop goin’?” Applebloom asked, causing the pair to fall silent. “Uh… We were...” Flim trailed off, giving Flam the perfect opportunity to jump in. “We were too smart!” “What?” Flim asked. “Really?” Apple Bloom asked with willing curiosity. “Yup, we aced every test growing up. Flim, you remember that math test, right, the one from fifth grade?” “Oh yeaaah. Mr. Strict thought we were cheating and had us answer a ton of questions in front of the class.” “Right? And remember science class?” “With the baking soda and the compressed bottle cannon we made?” Flim asked in a gleefully nostalgic tone. “Granny couldn’t decide if she wanted to laugh or shout at us. Though, it was Professor Doctor’s fault for leaving that duct-tape just lying around.” “And don’t forget that meat-head ‘Bulk’. Bleh, he had it coming for being a jerk.” “Reaaaal piece of work, that guy,” Flam agreed. “So ya both were really too smart for school?” Apple Bloom butted in, causing the twins to remember what had initially set them on the road of fond memories. Clearing his throat, Flim grabbed Apple Bloom’s attention as he thought up an excuse. “Well, we were certainly the smartest in the class back then. But there were a lot of reasons why we stopped. We didn’t have friends there, we could study on our own time, and going to school didn’t seem that important to us.” “Then why should I go? I’m just as smart as you two.” “Oh really? Quick, what’s seven times five?” Flim asked. “Uh… Five, ten, fifteen, twenty,” Apple Bloom muttered. “You’re staying in school, Apps,” Flam finished, earning a nod from Flim as the brothers settled their argument. Their younger sister couldn’t do anything more than groan in annoyance as her siblings continued to wash the last of the dishes. “But I hate school. It’s boring,” Apple Bloom protested. “Then make it fun. Why, if there was one thing we… learned…” Flim trailed off, earring a worried pair of looks from his siblings. “Flim, ya’ll okay?” Apple Bloom asked. “Flam, bathroom!” Flim yelled, grabbing his twin in his magic as he pulled him upstairs into their rather snug bathroom. Shutting the door behind them, Flim hoped over to the sink and set the hot and cold valves to their highest settings, bathing the room in a soft steam as Flam fixed his coat with a hoof. “Flim, what’s—” “Kinetic energy!” Flim interrupted happily as he used the fogged glass on the bathroom mirror as a makeshift board to draw out his plan. “You were right Flam, kinetic energy could work for the S.S.C.S, wow, I just realized we need a shorter name. Anyway, it could work, but there were a few problems. First, a hamster would be too small and Fluttershy would probably make us watch over Angel, again” he shuddered. “But, if we could gather kinetic energy from somewhere else and bring it to the Squeezer One, like the new name?” “Really rolls off the tongue.” “Good, anyway, the Squeezer One could gather kinetic energy from somewhere else and then use that to power itself.” “Okay, but what would we use?” “Not what, who. It’s simple, dear brother, Apple Bloom said school was boring, so we’ll ‘help’ make it fun for her and the others.” “And how does that help us?” “Easy, there’s one repair job in town that neither of us have wanted to touch. And, we could use it to generate the energy we need,” Flim finished, drawing an image of a familiar school house with a broken playground. “You… You want to use the kinetic energy of a seesaw, a twirler, and a swing set… I love it!” Flam cheered before a thought struck him. “Oh… We have to help her, don’t we?” He groaned, earning a sage nod from Flim. “Afraid so, Flam. If we don’t, then we’ll have just wasted a day for nothing and we’re already short a day since we forget today was Thursday. One of us’ll need to go to market tomorrow and sell apples while the other stays here and makes cider.” “Do we even have enough apples to sell tomorrow?” “With enough coffee and desperation, I can guarantee we’ll have enough apples by tomorrow, or my name isn’t Flim Apple. Now come on, we need to buck some trees and prepare for a midnight visit to the school,” Flim said as he quickly raced out of the bathroom and halfway down the hall before he noticed that his brother wasn’t following. “Well, what are you waiting for?” “Um, I actually do have to use the bathroom,” Flam said, earning a sigh from Flim as he shut the door. “Make it quick!” He ordered as he trotted down the stairs. The two had quite the busy evening and night ahead of them.