//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Show Must Go On // Story: Nonpareil // by TheOriginalSS //------------------------------// “Come on brother of mine, we got a show to put on!” Flim called down the tube of the megaphone he’d managed to get ahold of at their last stop in Manehatten. Flam grumbled and started to slowly trot up next to his brother. He eyed him with a mix of both anger and annoyance as they were forced to put on yet another show. It felt like all they did these days was put on shows. They were currently at a small town called Pennsalymare. The town was situated between Ponyville and Manehatten, but it was like a blend of the two tows together. While they retained the business-type atmosphere of Manehatten, the buildings and shops were more akin to that of Ponyville. The entire town wasn’t much larger than half the size of Ponyville. Flim smiled a wide grin as he peeked an eye through the curtain. Yes, it was true that they’d have a full crowd here tonight. And, if he’d managed to predict the status of the time, they’d arrived right in the middle of a cider shortage. “Let’s just get this one over with so we can fix up the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.” Flam grumbled. He used his magic to levitate a brush over to smoothen his mustache. Since their escapade in that little town, the machine had been working with a little…quirks here and there. The machine’s internal systems were clogged, causing it to not produce the high quality cider they used to. While it was still good cider, it wasn’t on par with that of Sweet Apple Acres anymore. That little thought along made Flam cringe as he thought of them being beaten out by a small cider business. Slowly, Flim used his magic to dim the lights, making Flam instantly shut his mouth and pay attention to the front of the stage. He slowly took in a deep breath and he let it out, then he began to slowly, ever so slowly, draw the little crank to start the music for them. It was time for another show. “Well you’ve got opportunity in this very community!” Flim giggled, dashing over the stump of a log in their backyard. Flam dashed by and he jumped on the log and bellowed, “He’s Flim and I’m Flam!” Flim turned and he playfully giggled and hugged his brother, and the two fell down against the hard earth, laughing as they smiled and rolled away. “And we’re gonna be world famous FlimFlam brothers!” Flim finished off, throwing a hoof around his brother and taking a few breaths from their little song. The two were only foals, a few weeks old at the time. They could run and had learned to talk quickly, which was a surprise to their parents. Still, they’d wasted no time in starting up games, songs, and slowly devising a song to help their dad’s pitching slogans. “I’m gonna be famous!” Flim yelled, jumping back on the stump of a tree that was cut down after a bolt of lightning took it down. Flam growled playfully, “Hey, I wanna be famous too you know! I AM the older one!” He stopped his hoof, a look of indignation on his face. “So what, you’re older by like, three seconds!” Flim argued, not relinquishing his spot on the stump. “I am too older by WAY more than three seconds!” He argued back. “Are too!” “Am not and you know it!” “Are too!” “Am not!” With that, Flam dashed and pushed Flim off the stump, securing his place and standing there, letting the tiny breeze ruffle his short mane and he turned, “I’m gonna be the famous one!” Flim stood up and he looked at the house to make sure that their momma wasn’t going to get angry at them for playing what she called a ‘rough game’. He shook his head and ran at Flam, and instantly the two fell into a light tussling match. Finally, both were exhausted and they laid down, panting while they looked at each other. There really was very little to tell them apart. The main thing was their voices: Flam’s was slightly less squeaky than Flim’s at the moment. Other than that, you’d have to look closely at the tail patterns, and even that was very small. In reality, they looked like twins. “Okay…” Flim panted, turning to close his eyes and focus on his heavy breathing, “I…have a solution!” Flam blinked at the unfamiliar word, but he nodded and asked, “What?” “We can both be famous together!” The two brothers smiled warmly at each other and gently hugged each other, slowly drifting to sleep in each other’s hooves under the lazy Manehatten sun. “Well you’ve got oppurunity in this very community!” “He’s Flim!” “He’s Flam!” “And we’re the world famous Flimflam brothers!” “Traveling salesponies nonpareil!” Flim and Flam stopped, twisting finally so they were leaning back against each other’s shoulder, panting and smiling at the crowd as their song finally came to a close. The music drifted down as the crowd began their usual response: clapping and cheering for them. However, Flam knew this wasn’t the best reaction. In Ponyville, the ponies had begun singing along with them and starting to dance alongside them, even allowing them to chance to interact with them. Here, it was more of a stage performance than an inovled audience scenario. Not that it mattered, so long as they sold their cider. “Now each cup of cider is not but 6 bits!” Flam cheered, raising his mug up and chugging a gulp down. “And if you buy it right now we’ll sweeten the deal: 3 for the price of 2!” Flim did likewise and then refilled the mug with the barrels from their machine, quickly getting behind their salesbooth. Instantly, as usual, the ponies ran up to them and began to start to partake in the ritual buying and drinking of cider. Flam put on his smile as usual and he dished out cider after cider, throwing their bits into a lockable container for them. The lock was deisgned to also snap shut and be quick to pick up and easy to carry. Flim felt his heart soar a bit at the line of ponies that came for their cider. He knew their machine did the work, but it was rewarding to see all the ponies out their buy their product. If you had to fudge a few details, that worked fine. If nopony caught it, what was wrong with it? Midway through the lines, however, the two ponies noticed that their profits weren’t as high as they expected. They realized that the ponies were buying a cup and leaving, rather than getting back in line or bribing a pony to get them more. Unlike before the incident, they only dished out firsts, not seconds. Quickly, the line finally drew to a complete stop and the ponies dispersed. Flim and Flam smiled and waved, calling out quickly, “Come back tomorrow! They’ll be plenty more for all of you!” Flim shut the box and walked behind their portable stage, then sat on the couch of the machine. He sank into the soft cushions with a sigh of relief. Flam narrowed his eyes, “Well? How much did we make?” The pony sighed and quickly counted his bits. When he finished his face wasn’t as happy as it was just a few moments before. “O-only a measly 546 bits!” He sighed, “It won’t even pay to fix the machine, brother! And that’s with the bits we’ve saved up!” Flam sighed and he looked out towards the dying lights and the crowd moving away. Slowly, the lights of the city turned off and the machine was cast in a deep shadow. Turning on a single lantern, Flam laid down opposite of Flim and pulled the blanket from under the cushions. “It’ll be fine.” He assured. It was not lost on Flim that his brother didn’t end off with ‘brother of mine’.