Early the following day, after Princess Celestia rose to the sun, she returned to the castle looking quite annoyed as she was heading straight to the Grand Hall, where she would meet "Flim and Flam's" prototype milking machine. The princess researched these two and was aware of their schemes throughout Equestria, being quite famous swindlers who usually get kicked out of every town they came across after ponies became wise to their schemes. She then saw her sister already in the Great Hall, and the first thing she noticed was Luna's butt and her little rope-like tail wagging back and forth with her massive udders exposed, swollen, and dripping with milk. She came over and nuzzled her. "Morning, sister."
"Morning to you as well," Luna replied as she nuzzled back. They then stood there, waiting for Flim and Flam to arrive.
As Princess Celestia stood there, she could feel anger rising in her gut with her tail whisking about, and her un-milked udders were making the feeling worse as she grumbled, "I cannot believe we're trusting these two scam artists."
Princess Luna sighed and said, "I don't trust them as much as you do, but we need to get ahead of the milking problem; many ponies find it difficult to milk by hoof or horn. This contraption surely will make things easier."
"They will as long as it works," Princess Celestia grumbled. They then went to the grand hall, and she groaned, feeling her swollen udders slosh about. "I hate that you convinced me not to be milked. It's like holding in your pee but worse!"
The princess of the night gave a quick nod as she clenched her back legs against her building udders, and milk leaked out onto the marble floor. "I know, I haven't been milked since Midnight! I'm tired as well and frustrated. I just want to get milked and then sleep, but we must endure and do this for the sake of the kingdom!"
Princess Celestia grumbled under her breath, jerked her head up, and shouted, "Fine! But only because I trust your judgment, sister."
"As do I!" The princess of the night chimed back as she nudged her back; they both laid their heads against each other. They suddenly squeaked as the main doors opened, and Shining Armor wobbled into the Grand Hall. He came up and gave them a sharp salute, then said, "Morning princesses!"
"Morning Shining!"
Seeing their swollen udders, he gasped and asked in alarm, "Princesses! Why haven't you been milked!?"
"Please hold your alarm. We are waiting for Flim and Flam so we can test their milking machine."
The captain of the guard rolled his eyes and gave an angry snort, "Yes, they have arrived, and I have to say I don't trust those hooligans one bit! You should turn them away at once."
Princess Celestia nodded in agreement, as she did share Shining's, then said, "Well, my sister and I both do not trust them either, but we both need to find a solution to our milking problem."
Shining threw a hoof out of frustration. "fine, I'll bring them in but don't say I didn't warn you." He then stomped off with his tail, whisking about, clearly being quite angry. The princesses stood tall, trying to look as regal as possible. Then, the two cows both trotted right into the great hall. Flim and Flamh stood up, looking at their massive, yellow-colored cows covered in bright red spoys waddled into the hall, pulling an enormous device covered in a red velvet curtain. The two cows looked absolutely ridiculous, with two stubby horns protruding from their foreheads, and one had a tiny fake mustache on his muzzle.
The former brothers both bowed and then said together in their southern drawls, "Good Morning, princesses!"
Being quite irritable, Princess Celestia threw a hoof up in the air and said, "Please, let's skip the formalities. Just get on with the presentation."
Princess Luna chimed in. "Yes, my sister and I are quite busy, and we haven't been milked for hours. I require my rest, so please continue with your presentation and make it fast."
The cow with the fake mustache gabe a slight bow and said, "Of course, quick introductions. My name is Flam, and this is my brother Flim," as he put a hoof around the other cow.
Flim rolled his eyes and said, "We look alike, even more now than before you can tell us apart as my brother Flam has a fake mustache."
The other cow flicked the mustache and snapped, "It's a part of my personality, and it helps to tell us apart, Mrs. Milk Bags!"
Flim threw his head up and shouted, "Milk bags! You're the one with the swollen udders you bloated milk sack!"
"How dare you! I milked you this morning, you ungrateful bovine!"
Luna was getting frustrated this time, so she raised her head and mooed! This stopped the two "brothers" from fighting, and then she snapped, "Please stop your bickering and just get on with the presentation!"
"Of course, uh, Flam. Will you do the honors?" Flam replied rather sheepishly. Flim then took the tip of a red curtain and threw it off, revealing a bulky shiny machine with a small dashboard, with a stall designed for a cow and inside weird hoselike attachments and a massive container. The princesses gave each other nervous glances as Flam threw out a hoof and cried, "This is the Milker 9000! Meant for getting milking done quicker and more efficiently than by hoof or horn."
"It's already tried and tested with the guarantee of many cows," Flam continued with a wink.
Celestia eyed the contraption, suspicious of its safety, and asked, "Are you sure it's safe?"
Flim laughed and exclaimed, "It is! My si—I mean, my brother and I tested it ourselves! It's designed not only to be efficient but also to be comfortable!"
Luna smirked as she raised her head, then said, "How about testing it again? If you have so much faith in it."
Flim and Flam argued for a bit about who should use it. They flipped a coin. Flam lost and grumbled as Flim nudged him with a smirk, "Sorry, brother."
"Whatever, I need to get milked anyways!" Flam scoffed as she crossed to the device, and Flim helped attach his brother's udders to the machine. The cow winced and mooed as it clamped shut around the udders. He then went to the dashboard on the side of the device and turned it on. He was milked, feeling it take out his milk most greedily as the white creamy substance filled the massive container nearby. From there, the machine continued to pump, and Flam gave this relaxed sigh as the container nearby filled with his milk until it slowed and stopped. Flim then removed the hose-like attachments from his brother and nuzzled him as Flam joyfully trotted off and sighed, "That was actually quite satisfying, and it didn't even take that long."
Flim turned to the panel and said, "Five minutes, to be exact. Doing this by hoof would haven taken about thirty."
He then took the container off the machine and capped it with a top. Then, they plopped another container onto the pump.
Princess Celestia sighed, "Well, it seems to work as you said; I guess now all that's left is for us to test it."
The Princess of the Sun was escorted to the device as the hoses were attached to her teats. She cried out as the rubber objects attached themselves; she winced out of sensation but relaxed as they were adjusted until they felt snug. Then Flim asked, "Are you ok?"
"It's fine," Despite the sharp pain at first, they felt snug and didn't hurt one bit. Then Flam went to the control panel, flipped it on again, and the pumping machine turned on. Princess Celestia cried out, feeling the milk pumped out of her. She cried out at first, surprised at how it felt, like a liquid substance emptying from her. It continued to pump; she felt much more at ease with the pressure in her udders ebbing away until she was drained. It wasn't long until she felt the pump slowed and stopped, and then Flim helped remove the hoses and asked, "So how did that feel?"
The princess, no longer feeling the intense pressure in her udders, let out a happy mooo and squealed, "It was amazing! That was so fast, and it felt so good!" She then skipped over rather happily as she turned to her sister, "You have to try this!"
Princess Luna gave a quick nod and then ran over to the machine. Flim assisted in attaching the hoses to the device and, like her, cried out in surprise at first. However, she eased up as the pumping continued and slowed to a stop. She then was unlatched from the pumps and lazily trotted over to her sister's side and whispered, "That felt so good. I cannot wait to try it again."
Princess Celestia turned to the two brothers, looking rather proud as she asked, "How many can you make?"
Flaim and Flam smirked at each other, and then Flam spoke up: "We have about fifty already made and a hundred more in production as we speak!"
Princess Luna's eyes widened as she said, "This is quite astonishing, but my sister and I need to talk for a moment alone."
"Of course, take your time." Flim and Flam both chimed.
The two princesses then waddled to the far end of the room so that the brothers couldn't overhear them, and they talked in hushed whispers as Luna whispered, "So what do you think?"
Princess Celestia paused, thinking about how good the pump worked and feeling that massive pressure was gone. It was much more efficient and practical, and she said, "I think it works and does as advertised, but the biggest question is how much will it cost? And, of course, can we trust these two to keep their end of the bargain."
"We can easily set aside some money to fund them and, in return, have these two sell the milk so we can use it to continue funding these projects until we find a cure..."
Princess Celestia reared her hesd at the thought of those two selling her milk. "I suppose that would help though I am not a fan of sellimg my milk even if its for a good cause."
but this still feels awkward with these two. Are you sure this is our only option?"
Luna paused, then said, "I understand where you're coming from; I can feel they're doing this for their own greed. But they're in the same boat, and we must work together. This milking problem is big and huge and will only worsen if we don't do something."
"Me neither but at this point dumping in the gutters seems like just a waste."
Princess Celestia still felt uneasy about being in buisness with Flim and Flam but at the same time it felt as if they were their only choice in getting ontop of their cowdemic problem. She then let out a frustrated moo, stomped a hoof, and shouted, "Fine! But the second I whiff any schemes, we pull out! Agreed!"
"Agreed."
They both bumped hooves and trotted over to the two brothers. Princess Celestia went straight to them and said, "My sister and I talked things over, and we shall give you a Grant to help manufacture and maintain these milking machines."
The brothers gave each other smirks as Flam threw a hoof, "That sounds fair! And you will not be disappointed!"
Princess Luna stepped forward and with a stern glare added, "However, it will be your job to install these devices throughout Equestria, teach other ponies how to work them, and find ponies to help replace the containers when they are full."
Flim was about to say something, but Flam pulled his brother aside as they talked things over in hushed whispers. Flam then put up a hoof and asked, "We agree with your terms; however, we also have another proposition."
Luna eyed them and asked, "And that is?"
Flam chimed, "Can we sell your milk?"
The princesses both exchanged nervous looks as if they had talked about this before. Flam nodded and explained, "We believe that the milk of the princesses can be drank and sold, especially with your names on it. It'll help bolster our coffers and give us more money to work with. Of course, you will gain half of the profits. Does fifty-fifty sound reasonable?"
Luna eyed her sister, seeing they discussed this in private. Celestia let out an annoyed sigh, as she did not like the idea of ponies drinking her milk. She grumbled, "I don't like the idea of ponies drinking my milk, but if it helps, why not? But, of course, fifty-fifty sounds reasonable."
"Yes, I find this agreement acceptable," Luna replied as they both signed the paperwork. Celestia hesitated but felt there wasn't much she could do but go along as she signed her name on the forms. The two red-spotted cows bowed and left the Grand Hall, skipping in glee. They left the prototype behind as a gift, with some strong earth ponies placing it near the thrones so the two princesses could be milked while holding court. The princess of the sun looked up, saw the big ugly machine next to their ornate thrones, and said, "What have we done, sister? Is this our fate? To be milked and treated like bovines?"
"We helped Equestria, and this will all be over soon. but until were back to normal must endure," Luna replied with a tired yawn.
"Alright, well lets get you to bed," Celestia whispered back as she escorted princess Luna up through the castle halls to her sister's bedroom.