“Aim, then shoot. Aim, then shoot,” Flim coached to himself as he pointed his right hoof towards an orange target that Ophidian had constructed using its mastery over the Orange Light. Flim then furrowed his brow and clenched his teeth in concentration. Within a second, a beam of orange energy shot from the ring that was snugly wrapped around the hoof like a bracelet and hit the target’s edge.
“You’re getting better at aiming, brother,” Flam complimented, patting Flim on the shoulder. “I wager you’ll have it down pat in a few more tries.”
“Avarice powers the weapons. You must think of nothing but your desires,” Ophidian hissed from the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000’s couch.
“I was thinking about my previous try and how off I was. You want me to empty my mind of everything but my sudden craving for apples?” Flim asked, turning his attention towards the serpent.
“Yes,” Ophidian confirmed, conjuring another target twenty feet away from Flim’s front.
“Alright,” Flim said as he faced the new target. He then closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, opened his eyes, aimed his hoof, and fired another orange beam. The blast struck the target’s very center, bursting it into orange particles that evaporated into nothing. “Direct hit,” he exclaimed, lowering his hoof.
“What’s next now that my brother is an expert in target practice, coach?” Flam asked, trotting up to Ophidian.
“Constructs,” Ophidian answered. “The rings are capable of transforming the wielder's thoughts into physical constructs through the wielder's desire of avarice. The wielder can create any particular items or constructs that they can imagine as long as they possess the desire of avarice necessary to conjure it into existence.”
“You mean like how you made targets out of orange energy?” Flim asked as he approached his brother and the serpent.
“Yes,” Ophidian replied.
Stepping back, Flam raised his ringed hoof into the air and furrowed his brow in concentration. Slowly, three streams of orange energy crept from his ring and above his head. A second later, three shapes, a cone, a cube, and a sphere, formed at the ends of the streams. “Incredible,” he said after looking up and spying his constructs.
“My turn,” Flim said as he stepped back and raised his ringed hoof and furrowed his brow. Within a moment, an orange stream crept from the ring and morphed into a crude replica of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. “Hey, I did it,” Flim exclaimed as he admired his construct.
“Nice construct, brother,” Flam complimented, dissipating his constructs.
“Thanks,” Flim replied as he rotated the orange replica. Dissipating the construct and facing Ophidian, he asked, “What’s the next lesson, Ophidian?”
“You now use the Orange Light of Avarice to take what you desire,” Ophidian hissed.
“What do you mean?” Flam asked.
“I sense that Flim desires apples,” Ophidian noted. “You desire wealth. Use your power to claim what is rightfully yours.”
“We do deserve something good after months of mediocre to rotten luck,” Flam said. “We’re about an hour or so from Ponyville’s apple farm. I propose that we go there and rob them blind.”
“We could gorge ourselves on fresh apples and avenge our reputation,” Flim said, licking his lips in eagerness.
“That and the heist will be great practice for our rings,” Flam noted. “Are there any other lessons we should learn before we go rob Sweet Apple Acres blind?” he asked, eyeing the serpent.
“The rings allow the wearers to defy gravitational forces,” Ophidian stated. “The rings also let the wearer alter their attire.”
“You mean we can fly using these things?” Flam asked as he glanced down at his ring.
“Yes,” Ophidian answered.
“How fast can we fly?” Flim asked. “How do we take off and steer?”
“Your avarice is the key to flight mastery,” Ophidian started. “Focus your desires on flight.”
“Like this?” Flim asked as an orange aura materialized around his body and lifted him off the ground a few feet.
“Good,” Ophidian hissed.
“Focus my desires on flight,” Flam said to himself as an orange aura enveloped his body and lifted him a few feet off the ground. He then shakily floated up to his brother and mused, “Never in a million years would I have fathomed that we would be able to take flight.”
“Do you think we’re stable enough to fly to Sweet Apple Acres and back?” Flim asked, turning towards the east.
“Remember, Ophidian said that our greed is what determines our mastery of our new powers. I wager we’ll be fine as long as we keep our eyes on the proverbial prize,” Flam reassured. “Think about all those fresh apples, brother, and you’ll be fine.”
“In that case, let’s go,” Flim said as he rubbed his front hooves together in eagerness.
“We’ll be back in a jiffy, Ophidian,” Flam stated as he floated to Flim’s side. “Take care of our luxurious locomotive while we’re gone.”
“Very well,” Ophidian hissed, a hint of annoyance in its voice.
“Ready, Flim?” Flam asked.
“Ready, Flam,” Flim exclaimed. “Let’s bing bang zam!”
Launching ahead of Flim and into the distance, Flam sang, “And show these fool ponies a world of unimpeachable orange power!”
“We’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers, travelling Orange Lanterns nonpareil,” Flim sang, following his brother out of Ophidian’s view.