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// Sinister Plans 
// Story: The Price of Cider 
// by StormLuna 
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At Sweet Apple Acres the Apple family is celebrating their new found wealth.  Applejack said, "Y'all know what everypony, this has to be the best day in the history of the entire Apple family."

Granny Smith replied, "Well we need to go put that check in the bank before we can officially celebrate and I think you and Big Mac need to go do that now.  Then we can celebrate!"

Applejack asked, "Big Mac, are you ready to go.  We need to get this put in the bank."

Big Mac replied, "Eeyep!"

While Applejack and Big Mac headed off to the bank to deposit the check Flim and Flam headed into Barnyard Bargains to speak with Filthy Rich.  The two headed in and were greeted by Filthy.  Filthy looked at them and said, "You know, you two look familiar.  It seems like I have seen you here in Ponyville before."

Flam replied, "You probably have.  I don't remember if you remember that cider season when Sweet Apple Acres couldn't produce enough cider but we were here when that happened."

Filthy remembered how awful their cider was and just the thoughts of it made him gag.  He looked up and said, "Oh yes, you two are the ones who served the cider with dirt, rocks and tree branches in it."

Flim rolled his eyes and said, "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!  It was just a different style of cider, something more natural!"

Filthy asked, "Now what brings you two here? I have a feeling that you two aren't here to buy anything."

Flim looked back towards Filthy's office.  Filthy saw this and said, "I take it you boys are wanting to talk about something business related.  Follow me to the back."

They headed back to Filthy's office.  Flim and Flam were dead set on bringing down Sweet Apple Acres but what they didn't know was that getting Filthy to help them out would not be as easy as they thought it would be.

Filthy sat in his chair and told the brothers to sit down.  He asked, "So, what kind of business are you wanting to talk?  I have a feeling it is going to be something that will cause everypony grief."

Flim replied, "Why Mr. Rich, why would you think that.  We don't mean anypony any harm."

Filthy said, "Yeah, uh huh.  I know how you boys........wait a minute, did you just call me Mr. Rich instead of Filthy?"

Flim smiled and replied, "Yep, I did.  I do not think it is very nice to go calling somepony, especially someone as influential as you by their first name."

This really impressed Filthy.  While he knew that the pair was probably up to no good, he was thinking to himself that he should at least humor them.

Filthy said, "Well I a glad to know that someponies still have respect.  Now what is it that you wish to discuss?"

Flim replied, "Well, I don't know if you heard about this or not, but Juice Bottle, the CEO of the Equestrian Juice Beverage Company came into town today and purchased 1,000 barrels of cider for over a million bits."

Filthy was stunned.  He was so stunned that he got choked on his coffee and he was coughing so loud that it caused his daughter to come running into his office.  She asked, "Daddy, I heard you coughing really loud.  Are you ok?"

Filthy replied, "Diamond Tiara, I am fine, could you go out and watch the store.  Can't you see daddy is busy?"

Diamond Tiara whined, "But daddy, Silver Spoon and I were going to go to Sugarcube Corner this afternoon."

Filthy was not thrilled.  He gave her a look that could kill.  He replied, "Either you watch the store or you are grounded for a month and you will only see Silver Spoon at school."

Diamond Tiara pouted, "But daddy, nopony has even came in today.  Couldn't we just lock up for a while?"

Filthy replied, "Fine.  No need to be open right now if these two are the only ones who have came in today."

Filthy headed out to lock up while Diamond Tiara stayed in the back.  She recognized Flim and Flam and realized that they must be there to try to talk her dad into doing something that would hurt Sweet Apple Acres.  She figured she could use her charm on her dad to get him to work with them.

Filthy got back and told Diamond Tiara that she needed to leave so that he could talk with the brothers.  She would not have any of it.  She wanted to stay back there and gave her dad puppy dog eyes and he finally caved and let her stay back there.

Filthy asked, "Well finally, now we can talk.  So the Apple family made over a million bits off of their cider.  Good for them, after everything they do for my family's business I am happy for them.  You know if it weren't for Granny Smith my grandfather would have never been able to start Barnyard Bargains."

Flim and Flam looked at each other with nervous smiles and said in unison "Seriously?"

Filthy continued, "Yep.  Granny Smith discovered those zapapples in the Everfree Forest and decided to make jam out of them.  Well my grandfather bought some from the Apple family and was able to sell it and made enough that we could open up shop.  Ever since then, us and the Apple family have done business with one another.  We buy the zapapple jam from them which aids them tremendously and of course the money we make off of selling that jam always ensures that we have a profit."

Diamond Tiara interrupted, "Daddy, I know that but Apple Bloom and her friends are always showing me up at school.  They get better grades than me and Cheerilee hates me because I don't get good grades."

Filthy asked, "And how is this relevant to anything?"

Flim decided to tell Filthy about his plan.  He asked, "Mr. Rich, I know you have close ties with the Manehattan Commodities Exchange and I know that cousins of yours own property abroad.  We are wondering if you would help us cause the price of cider to crash so we could force the Apple family to sell out to us?"

Filthy got very angry.  He asked, "Did you not just hear how it is the Apple Family who has helped our family with our business.  I would never do anything to hurt them."

Diamond looked up to her dad with puppy dog eyes and asked, "But daddy, remember how I told you that Cheerilee doesn't like me because of Apple Bloom and her friends?"

Flam smiled and said, "You're daughter does make a point."

Filthy was grinding his teeth and glared at his daughter.  He yelled, "Look Diamond, I know you don't like Apple Bloom and want her and her family to suffer but you know what?  If it weren't for them, we would not be all that well off.  I would probably be working construction and you probably would have never been born.  So get over it."

Diamond started to cry, "Please daddy, help these fine businessponies.  Don't you want to see the enemy of your precious daughter suffer for always showing me up.  Remember how it was Apple Bloom who caused me to lose my post as editor in chief of the school newspaper."  Diamond Tiara again gave her dad teary puppy dog eyes.  Finally Filthy caved in to his daughter.

He asked Flim and Flam, "So how is it you want me to crash cider prices?"

Flim replied, "Well given that you have family abroad who owns property, you could always send a false report to the Neigh York times that your family will be sending a tanker with three billion barrels of cider on board to be introduced into the Equestrian cider market."

Filthy put his hoof to his face and said, "Are you two nuts?  No one in my family owns any apple orchards and the property they own is in Saddle Arabia, which doesn't even have the proper climate to grow apples."

Flam asked, "Well what about Neigh Zealand? I know they grow apples."

Filthy sighed and rolled his eyes.  He replied, "I don't have family that lives down there."

Flim laughed and said, "But they don't need to know that.  I'm betting you wouldn't even have to tell anypony who you are!  I bet if you just sent a rumor to the commodities exchange they would believe it and the price of cider would crash!"

Filthy was tapping his hoof on his desk and asked, "So, when do you boys want me to do this?"

Flam replied, "Eleven months from now.  By then the Apple family will have went through all that money and then they will have nothing after the next sale and will have to sell out to us!  Don't worry, we will produce the same high quality jam to you!"

Filthy replied, "Fine, consider it done."

Diamond Tiara started jumping up and down shouting, "Yay!  Thank you daddy!  I love you daddy!"

Flim and Flam left the store and returned to their home in Vanhoover thinking about nothing but owning Sweet Apple Acres while Diamond Tiara was giddy over the fact that Apple Bloom may not be living there within a year.  Filthy seemed a bit unsure about this and felt bad but knew that a deal was a deal.