The sun, being the evil trickster that it was, silently crept over the horizon like a predator, bathing the land in warm light as it rose higher in the sky.
Stirring softly from their relaxing rest, Flam opened his eyes to see the sun stare daggers into his eye sockets, prompting him to block the sun with a hoof as he pulled himself off of the ground.
“Morning Flim,” Flam groaned, washing out the taste of morning breath from his mouth with his tongue.
“Morning… MORNING!” Flim suddenly exclaimed, grabbing all of the leftover supplies and the old playground twirler with his magic. It took only a few moments for Flam to suddenly catch on and awake himself up, joining his brother’s side to help lift the heavy piece of metal as they began opening the shed and shoving it inside.
“You manage the stall, I’ll make cider. Deal?” Flim yelled to his brother.
“Deal,” they both agreed as they made a mad dash to the house.
Luckily for the twins, their grandmother and little sister were both still sleeping soundly, giving the brothers the perfect opportunity to sneak inside.
Flim and Flam counted their blessings as they slowly ascended the stairs, quietly congratulating their little sister for fixing the squeaky steps that used to creak with the slightest ounce of pressure.
There was only one significant problem with their plan to sneak back inside, and it suddenly became very evident to the two unicorns as they stood outside the bathroom door. Their literal dirt nap had left their coats covered in loose dirt and grass, something that could be fixed easily by the one shower inside the house.
“… Loser takes the garden hose?” Flim offered, earning a nod from Flam as they turned to face each other.
Grabbing a bit from their room with Flim’s magic, they flipped the golden coin in the air as they both quietly called out their bet.
Celestia, despite being an evil mare who raised a flaming ball of annoying light into the sky each day, had blessed Flam with a victory as the bit came up as her cutie mark.
Savoring a silent cheer, Flam quickly trotted into the bathroom as Flim dragged himself outside to wash off with the gardenhose.
The smell of hay-bacon and coffee seeped through the floorboards of Granny Smith’s room, causing the elderly mare to slowly rise from her bed as the familiar scent tickled her nose.
The morning sun, acting as the gentle nudge she needed to open her eyes, peeked through the old curtains that hung over her window. The Apple matriarch trotted through her early morning routine before heading downstairs, where Flim and Flam had been cooking a hearty breakfast for everypony else.
It genuinely amazed her that those two could be so thin despite their constant exercise and eating. Must have been their magic, made everything a tad too easy on their bodies in her opinion. Still, it did come in hoof from time to time, so she wouldn’t look a kind dragon in the mouth.
Though a bit disheveled and red eyed, the two still wore bright smiles as they finished the last pancakes.
“Morning Granny,” they both greeted, taking their seats at the kitchen table as Apple Bloom, whom had already been waiting at the table, sluggishly raised her head.
“Mornin’ Granny,” the youngest Apple said, stifling an adorable yawn as Granny sat at the head of the table.
“Morning kids. What are you two doin’ up so early? Normally, I have’ta drag ya’ll out of yer shed if I want us to have breakfast.”
“Just a little side project,” Flim answered talking a long sip of coffee as he used a spell to set the table.
“What kind of side project?” Granny pressed with a hint of suspicion in her voice as Flim passed a plate to her.
“It’s not on the farm Granny, don’t worry. Just did some work in town,” Flam assured her.
“Another job in town then? Who’s it fer?”
“That’s a surprise,” Flim said, using a spell to catch Apple Bloom’s head before she tried to use a pile of pancakes as a pillow.
“I’m sure everypony’ll love it, Granny. Just you wait,” Flam added on. “It’ll be… Darn, can’t think of a good pun.”
“Um… It’ll knock ‘em out of the park?” Flim offered, earning a chuckle from Flam.
“Nope. Just leave the jokes to me, I’m better at them.”
“Are not,” Flim refuted.
“Are too.”
“Are not.”
“Are too.”
“Are—”
“Boys, simmer down and eat your breakfast,” Grannny ordered, bringing an immediate end to the silly squabble that would have kept going until they were blue in the face.
The rest of breakfast went over smoothly as they ate. When Granny Smith finished her breakfast and tried to take her plate to the sink, a green colored aura wrapped around the plate and put it away for her, along with the other silver ware and glasses that needed a good soak.
“Apps, all set to get to school?” Flam asked as he grabbed her saddle bags from the parlor and placed them on her back.
“Yup!” Their little sister replied happily.
“Alrighty then, come on Apple Bloom, I’ll walk ya ta school,” Grannny Smith offered, earning a pair of worried looks from her grandsons.
“Granny, you did’t need to do that. Flam and I could have taken care of it.”
“Don’t be silly, Flim. I’ll take her and you two can set up the stall,” she snorted.
It was nice that her grandsons cared for her, too many colts and fillies these days didn’t have a lick of respect for their elders, but she wasn’t made of glass.
The brothers were still reluctant to let their grandmother go, and Flam took it upon himself to step forward. “I’ll take Apps to school and set up shop after. It’s on the way to town, anyway.”
“And I’ll be on the farm bucking apples. The family will be here soon and then we need to cater the Summer Sun Celebration. Why don’t you… Uh, see if there are any extra blankets in the closet?” Flim tried to offer.
“I can do that later. Sides, it’d be good to get outside and stretch ma legs a bit,” she countered, trotting past the pair as Apple Bloom galloped outside to wait patiently on the porch.
She could hear the duo sighing as she closed the door behind her. Theatrical pair of colts, those two, making a big stink over a mare walking her grandchild to school.
She understood though, a little piece of her would always know that they were just scared of losing more of their family. And, truth be told, she was too.
Flim and Flam were a bright pair of colts, too bright for some farm in a town that was literally called “Middle of Nowhere” when her grandmother was a filly. If it weren’t for their devotion to their humble family, those two could have went out to change the world. It was a scary thought for Granny Smith.
The world was a mean place, it ate up bright eyed ponies like them and spat ‘em out sometimes. It’s why she liked tradition. It was safe, reliable, and it always worked. No need to fix something that wouldn’t break anytime soon. It was safer that way.
Inside the house, Flim and Flam were putting away the last of the dishes before trotting out of the back door to get to the apple cart.
“Everything set?” Flam asked.
“I think so. No doubt they’ll play a little bit in the playground before the bell rings, and then again at lunch too. The Squeezer One should collect a bit of energy from the morning and squeeze out about a hundred or so ciders. By this weekend, we’ll have all the cider we’ll ever need and more for the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Good. You sure Granny won’t notice, though?”
“I’m gonna hit the south part of the orchard. Machine’s pretty quiet, and she probably wouldn’t think to look there. And if she does, I’ve got it covered. I reworked the parachute to act as actual camouflage. Oh, by the way, we need new Hearths Warming decorations, needed to use some fake plants and pine to make it work.”
“Should be pretty cheap this time of year. I’ll see if they have any at the second-used shop.”
“Perfect,” Flim quietly cheered as he hooked Flam into the wagon.
“Huh, feels a bit lighter then usual,” Flam commented idly as he began trotting ahead.
Taking a small peak under the tarp covering the apple wagon revealed a bustle or two less apples than they were planning to sell at market.
“You’re right, we’re missing a few,” Flim revealed.
“Then where’s the rest?” Flam asked his brother.
“Don’t know. Hey Granny, where’re the other apples we bucked yesterday?” Flim called as the two brothers trotted around the side of the house.
“The rest of what?” Granny asked.
“The apples. Flam and I bucked at least a good four dozen more than what we have. Where are the other bustles?”
“I tossed some of the bruised ones in the compost and used the rest for our meals.”
“Wha-but-ugh. Granny, we can’t keep tossing apples because of a little scuff mark or a bruise,” Flam complained, eliciting a nod from his clean shaven brother.
“We’re Apples, Flam, we can’t give anypony in town anythin’ less than the best. Now come on, let’s head out. Flim, you be safe on the farm, ya hear?”
“Don’t worry Granny, I’ll be out in the field if you need me!” Flim promised.
“Alrighty the. Come on, Flam, let’s get a move on,” their grandmother ordered, trotting a few paces away before Flam cleared his throat.
“Uh, actually, you two go on ahead, I’ll catch up. Gotta hit the bathroom really quick.”
“Okay. Come on, Granny, class’ll start soon!” Apple Bloom agreed, trotting ahead of her family as Granny slowly trotted down the path.
The brothers waited until their other family members looking under the tarp to stare at the empty space in their cart.
Flam buried his muzzle into his hooves as he sighed, dragging them down his face as he covered the cart again.
“I can’t believe Granny tossed a whole bustle of apples because of a small bruise,” he groaned. “We could sell a bruised apple to an apple farmer, if we tried. ‘Bruises make it more flavorful’!”
“I hear ya, Flam. But, there’s nothing we can do about it. Go ahead and catch up with them. I’ll get the Squeezer One ready to make cider,” Flim said with a little bit of desperate hope in his voice. “With any luck, we can cover the loss today with anything we sell when Princess Celestia gets here.”
“Alrighty Flim,” Flam mumbled as the two brothers broke off with Flim making a quick gallop towards the shed.
The mustached twin couldn’t help but lament their inevitable profit dip as he dragged the all too light cart.
“Stupid bruises, who cares about a stinkin’ bruise. It’s like not eating a banana because of a brown spot. We could sell them if we actually tried,” he scoffed as a funny idea started to tickle his mind.
Coming to a stop only a few yards away from their house, Flam turned to look at the old building as a devious smile slowly crawled across his muzzle.
“Hmmm… Ya know, that’s not a bad idea,” he pondered.
The apple cart was a bit heavier when he finally caught up with Granny Smith a few minutes later.