//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: One Trot Back // Story: Nonpareil // by TheOriginalSS //------------------------------// The machine moved through the countryside, sputtering smoke into the air as it moved. The wheels would dangerously move around and jerk a little, causing them to almost be flung off it. Flim desperately tried to fix it on the move, yet he couldn’t realign the gears and fix the magic receptors without the proper parts. As they moved in their dangerous contraption, Flam looked up with narrowed eyes. He hadn’t said much since they’d left, only made drunken slurs and groaned every so often. He wasn’t sure what was going through his mind, yet Flim knew it wouldn’t be pleasant to find out. The machine came to stop at the bottom of the hill, allowing Flim to take a break and get a bite to eat. He opened the compartment behind the couch and pulled out on of the last bags of apples they had. They’d been saving them for cider, but at this point it was logical to eat them instead. “Apples again?” Flam snarled bitterly, “I can feel my taste buds jumping at the prospect!” Flim narrowed his eyes and tossed a green apple to him, “there, that should give you a little boost then, brother.” Flam rolled his eyes and leaned back, biting into the apple. The taste was so familiar he was desensitized to it. He chewed up the apple and finished it, tossing the core into the grass by the machine and laying down. In the meanwhile, the mostacheless pony hoped down and opened up the little sliding door to the gear mechanism. A cloud of black smoke came out, burning his eyes and mouth. Flim coughed and he used his magic to dissipate it, taking a peak inside. He illuminated it, only to wish he hadn’t bothered in the first place. The entire system was haywire, with wires hanging down and random bits of wood and rock scattered among it. The ropes that pulled the tires were frayed, almost to their breaking point. The complex machine lay leaking and ruined. The only thing holding the back wheels on at this point was a metal axle that looked ready to slip out. Hurriedly, he righted the axle and sat down, sighing a little and walking up to the top. The machine wouldn’t be able to make cider for at least a month at this rate! That competition had ruined them. “How’s the machine, brother?” Flam asked, taking a bit of the blanket and dabbing the corners of his mouth with it. Flim groaned, “There’s no way we’ll be able to fix it in time to break even with the cost it’ll take to fix this! We’d be better off making the cider by hoof than paying to have the machine fixed!” The ends of Flam’s mustache quivered, “you are supposed to be the one who knows how to fix it!” “I do know how to fix it!” Flim shot back, “I just don’t have the parts nor the time to do so!” “Selling this blasted cider with this machine was your bucking idea Flim!” Flam shouted, standing up and pushing the couch over, “You should know how to fix this!” “WELL I DON’T!” Flim screamed at him, “IF I KNEW HOW I WOULD HAVE ALREADY FIXED IT BY NOW!” “You just said you needed parts!” Flam shouted, “Stop lying to me already!” Flim took a breath and he spat, “maybe if my brother was helping me rather than sitting here and spitting at me then we’d already be on our way and up in Trottingham!” Flam picked up and apple and threw it square at Flim’s head. The apple was pierced by his horn and slid down to the hilt. A few strands of juice slid down his face. “BROTHER!” He shouted, only to realize that Flam had walked to the back of the machine. From the way he was sitting, it was clear he wasn’t talking. “Fine, be that way!” Flim shouted, “I’ll fix this damned machine myself! I never want to be around you again!” Flim growled and he activated his magic, sending the machine rolling again. The inner mechanisms groaned and began to lurch them forward at a precarious pace. The vehicle made its way up the hill, only to stop when it reached the top. Flim looked down and he saw bits of black smoke coming from the back. “Great, just great! That it just what I needed at this exact moment in time!” Flim spat. Pointing his horn at the glass receptors, he doubled the power his magic was putting into the machine. The sound of the horn doubled as the wheels started spinning faster. “Let’s make some progress!” Flam shouted, knocking his hoof on the machine. Unbeknownst to them, the machine wasn’t having it. The increase of magic caused the gear that spun the axle connecting the back wheels to spin faster. The spinning of the gear caused the axle to fall out, sending the back wheels with them. The entire machine groaned and started to slide backwards. Flim shouted as he turned to see the two wheels and the axle roll down the hill and crash into a tree. The force of the axle coming off sent the machine flipping onto its side. Glass, wood and metal all lurched as the entire contraption slid down the side of the hill. Flim was thrown backwards onto the floor, where he clutched onto it for dear life. The protruded grill on the front of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 caught on a tree and slung it in an arc. It bounced off a tree before the impact caused it to lean over and roll down the hill. The machine flipped down the grassy slope and slid down into a tree. A loud crash sounded into the air as the world went dark for the con artist ponies. The last thing he remembered before it went dark was the smell of smoke as it engulfed the wreckage of the once proud machine. ~ Silver Shill sat down beside Flim and he laid a hoof on his shoulder, “So, you’re interested in seeing what I do for a living?” Flim nodded, sitting down on a little crate that Shill pulled up for him. From what he could see, Shill couldn’t have been much older than him. In fact, he looked like he was probably only a year or so older. Shill sat down and he pulled out a bottle, “this here is the Silver Shill’s Make-It-All Tonic!” He hoofed a bottle to Flim, “Read the label, little filly.” He squinted and began to read the tiny font, “Make all your dreams come true, be it romance, promotions, weight loss, whatever you want!” Flim gasped, “Whoa! How does it do all of that?!” Shill smiled, “You have to believe in it, and it works!” The filly walked over to the cart and gazed at them, “Whoa… so what exactly is all this for anyways? Are you giving them away?” Shill gasped, “Never! I sell them to ponies!” Flim turned and he asked innocently, “But mommy told me ponies will like you more if you give it to them for free, then they’ll come back and want more!” “If a product can be given away for free, it isn’t’ a good product at all!” Shill exclaimed, “That’s what my mother taught me!” “Where is your mommy?” Flim asked, “I don’t see her around her.” The gray pony stopped up short and his face scrunched up. He muttered, “She… isn’t around these days.” Not taking the hint, the filly pressed on, “did she leave you at home? I bet we can find her if we go and call the poli-“ “NO!” The filly was suddenly blown away by the ferocity of Shill’s voice, “We don’t be calling anypony! Nopony at all!” Flim shook and he whispered, “o-okay s-sir I-I was just asking!” Shill calmed down and he leaned into the alley wall, looking up at the stars, “So, filly, have you ever thought about doing business?” Flim thought about it for a few seconds, “Yeah! When I’m old enough, I’m gonna take over daddy’s company!” Shill looked at him with narrowed slits, “And give up the opportunity to see the world?” That tripped the filly up, “Well….I thought helping out with the company would be really good! I mean, look at it! It’s huge! I bet you could see all of Equestria from there!” Suddenly, Shill laid a hoof on Flim’s shoulder, “A bird’s eye view is as good as looking through a picture. You have the get out there and experience it to really understand.” Flim took in what he was saying and he asked, “Well… I guess I don’t really know what I wanna do! I always thought I’d do business!” “You don’t have to give up doing business!” Shill said quickly, “I just meant that you should do a traveling business! It’s much funner, better and you get to keep all the profits you make!” Flim thought about it, “hmm… I guess you’re right! Thanks mister, it means a lot to me!” Shill nodded and he stretched his back out, “Well, it’s getting late. I need to get ready for bed now. Take care… uh…” “Flim!” The filly chirped, “I’ll talk to my daddy about maybe buying some of your stuff tomorrow!” Shill smirked, “Thanks, that means a lot to me as well. Run along now!” As Flim scampered away from the alley, Shill turned around and he sighed, “Fillies… they’ll believe what you say these days.” ~ “FFFFFFLLLLAAAAMMM!” The unicorn cried out, “WHERE ARE YOU?!” The machine was a total wreckage. The main frame had shattered, causing bits of glass, metal and wood to scatter all around the site. Fire had broken out in some places, adding a layer of smoke to the air. The entire vehicle was completely and utterly trashed. The pain of losing the machine was only seconded by the pain of realizing he couldn’t find Flam. He’d woken up on the edge of the wreckage with a hoof that felt funny and a pounding headache. He guessed he’d been flung off the machine when it crashed into the tree. But where was Flam? He’d been sitting on the back of it, so he could have jumped. But Flim had already checked at the hill and around the crash site. There was no sign of him. “FFFLLLAAAMMM!” He cried, “ARE YOU OKAY!?” Something between a groan and a sob escaped from his lips. He collapsed and started to cry, shaking on the ground. Tears fell from his eyes as he realized Flam could very well be dead. “FLAM!” He cried again, “PLEASE!” There was nothing but the crackling of flames and the occasional burst of glass as it over heated. The unicorn put both hooves on the ground. His world spun, swaying dangerous. Flam was gone. He was gone. His brother. The only other pony he’d trusted. He was gone. He wasn’t there. He was dead. The last thing he’d said to him was that he didn’t want to be around him. Ever again. Fate had a cruel way of granting his wish. “FFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM!” He screamed one last time, before his throat was wracked with sobs. He fell to the ground in a heap and he cried, letting tears shamelessly slip down his form. He tore off his vest and buried his face in his hat. “Flam…” he sobbed. “Please…..”