Flimsy

by UnweptSchlipps

Thump

Flam trotted off the dance floor, his face slick with warm sweat. He glanced out the window to see it was dark, and rain was still ravaging the town. He made his way back to the table, surprised to see his brother already back in his seat. “My, it’s pretty late,” Flam commented. “Have we been dancing for that long?”

The sibling answered, “Time flies when you’re having fun, dear old brother of mine.”

Flam flinched. Levitating his trench coat around his body, he took a seat and stated, “And we haven’t even touched our food. Do you think they’d let us stay here and finish it?”

“Of course, I don’t see why not. They’ve always let me hang out here late and listen to the music!”

With raised eyebrows, Flam inquired, “Oh…so you’ve been here often? For what? Do you go here for business a lot?”

The question was quite unexpected, but if Flim felt blindsided, he certainly didn’t show it. His twinkling green eyes never faltered, and he replied, “Why yes…I’ve come to Gallopton quite a bit, and I always eat here.”

With a slight nod, the mustached stallion took his first bite into his dandelion sandwich. Between bites, he said, “Sorry for the random questions, Flim. But for the record…you did say you’d tell me about your exploits too.”

“Mmhmm. So I did.”

The two brothers ate in silence. The stage was now empty; the band had taken a break. Many of the ponies had already left the restaurant, leaving only a handful of late-night diners. Aside from those ponies’ whispers, the room was quiet.

Flim couldn’t take his eyes off his brother, or more specifically, the trench coat wrapped around his brother’s body. Flam levitated the sandwich up to his mouth, only to pause in mid-bite. “…You’re looking at me funny.”

The brother shook his head, replying, “Oh. I’m just zoning out, is all. Sorry about that.” Placing his hooves on the table and resting his head atop them, Flim asked softly, “So how’s the food, brother of mine?” He watched Flam shift ever-so-slightly in his seat, and with a delicate grin, he added, “Everything you’ve expected? Maybe even more?”

Gulping down the last bits of bread, the mustached stallion replied, “Not bad, Flim. I think you were right about this place. It’s great.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Well…since we’re finished with the food, might as well pay the bill now, right?” Flam started to reach into his coat pocket and pull out his wallet.

“Oh no, no! That isn’t necessary! I was the one who invited you after all! Here, let me handle it.” Flim firmly grasped his brother’s foreleg and slowly guided it back down, much to Flam’s confusion. “No need for that ol’ wallet, eh Flam? I’ll go pay up front,” he said, and with a wink, he sauntered off to the host’s podium.

Flam watched him out the corner of his eye, deliberately sliding his wallet back into his jacket. He could see Flim mouthing something to the mare, but unfortunately, they were speaking too quietly to hear. So he instead turned his attention to the drone of the raindrops on the road outside, a few of which plopped upon the window.

Come on, Flam. You can’t let this charade go on any longer… He found his gaze drawn to one of the droplets slithering along the window.

You need to call him out…just say it. His eyes trekked along the window, following that cold drop as it blazed a crooked path across the glass, engulfing the smaller entities in its way.

I won’t let him—. But soon, the heavy droplet spiraled downwards, falling far short of the ever-receding edge. And every single drop seemed to follow that path, struggling against the pull of gravity and the torrent of rain, only to hit the bottom over and over again.

“Bill’s been paid, brother.”

“Oh?” a distant voice replied.

“Bill’s been paid,” Flim repeated with a curt nod. He sat down, following his brother’s gaze out the window. For a moment, he was captivated by the sparkling droplets. But he quickly lost interest, turning to the wine still left on the table. Levitating the glass to his mouth, he asked, “Why don’t we have a toast, hm? Tie this night into one neat little bow!”

Flam silently lifted his own wineglass, putting on a timid smile. Clinking the glasses together, Flim stuck out his chin and proclaimed, “To your achievements…and to our continued success!” The brothers took a simultaneous sip. It tasted bitter, but the alcoholic beverage made Flim feel warm inside.

The mustached unicorn glanced over at his sibling, whose mouth was contorted into a devilish grin. Clearing his throat, he started, “Dinner’s been fun, Flim, I-I won’t lie.” He gulped, but his throat stung. Expelling a deep breath, he finally inquired, “But…but really now, what is it you want?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Flim replied, feigning innocence.

“I mean…why did you want to talk to me all of a sudden?”

“Because I miss you, brother. Work’s been keeping us both so busy, and I...I just wanted to reconcile with you.”

“Don't..." Flam's voice trailed off, his green eyes making a silent plea. Finally, he muttered, "Please...please don’t...lie to me, Flim. I'm not mad, brother. But I'm not stupid either. So please...respect that.”

“I don’t understand.”

Flam leaned forward, hiding his shaking hooves underneath the table. He whispered, “I know your personality better than anyone else, and this…this ‘bonding’… is most definitely not like you.”

Flim simply shook his head, scoffing amusedly. With a shrug, he answered, “I’m a changed pony, Flam. Really, I am. I’ve been places, had time to really think. All I ask is for you to take me back.”

“I…I wish I could believe you.”

“What do you mean? How could you possibly say that? After all that I’ve done for you?”

“Don't you dare guilt me again.”

“Why are you so jumpy? I am your brother, Flam, you know you can trust me.”

“Stop it, Flim!” His hoof pounded the table, causing the glasses to rattle. Such force seemed to surprise Flam himself, as he swiftly withdrew his hooves and began to rub his temple. Flim was sitting with his back erect and eyes wide. The remaining ponies in the restaurant cast nervous glances over at the two.

Flam said softly, “I…I know about what you’ve done…what you’ve failed do. I've heard the stories. And now your brother's coming to the same exact town you’ve parked your flank for the last couple years...I know it almost seems too good to be true.”

“Naw, come on now, good ol’ brother of mine, you can’t really-.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“I’d appreciate it if you don’t interrupt me, Flam,” Flim uttered, his voice steadily rising. For the first time all night, he looked visibly emotional.

“Sorry. It's just that…whenever you call me that, I know what you’re trying to do.”

“And what, dare I ask, is that?”

“You are my brother, Flim. And…I love you like one. But your problems aren’t going to be solved by hopping aboard whoever has the most money. And I’m not going to let you waste your time trying to charm me into it. I can’t help you—.”

Suddenly, the other brother quickly stood up, his chair falling backwards with a loud thump. Slamming his hooves on the table, Flim bellowed, “And who the hell said I wanted your help?”

Flam stared straight into his brother’s icy eyes, which sent a chill through his body. Trying to back away, he begged quietly, “Come Flim, not here.”

“Why would I want help from the pony who stabbed me in the back?”

“Stabbed you in the…I did no such thing! Y-you were the one who…”

Flim reached across the table, jabbing his brother in the chest. His blood was boiling, and his mind and heart were racing at a hundred miles per hour. Rage started to flood his veins, almost covering up the slight ache he felt in his chest. “We were a team, Flam. We were supposed to stick together! But you never supported what we were doing! You had to run off and leave me to dry! When I needed you most, you weren’t there.”

“Flim, these baseless accusations—.”

“Baseless! Your entire business is baseless! The Super Cider Squeezy was my idea, and you used it to make your damned overpriced juicer!” He sucked in a couple of hot breaths, his hoof rubbing his chest. But the pain only seemed to get worse.

“But you just said we—.”

“You never would have gotten anywhere without me! All I want is my fair share! My cut of the profit! Is that too much to ask? You’ve let me rot in this dung-hole for too long! The plan was to make it together, as a team! But you threw that away and left me to fix it.” That ache had transformed into a searing pain. His heart pumped faster and faster, trying to compensate for the lack of oxygen, which was making his head spin.

Flam grasped his seat, holding up a leg to protect himself from the spittle flying from his brother’s mouth. The smell of fresh alcohol wafted into his nostrils and stung his eyes. He replied shakily, “Flim, if we could’ve stayed together, we would have. But …you kept gambling away our savings and spending whatever you had left on...on booze! You say we were a team, but everything we did was to suit your mood. Even the performances and the towns…you kept them all under your hoof. Now I’ll admit I deserve some of the blame, but…but that does not mean you’re getting off scot-free. It...it hurts to see that you actually believe what you're saying. I've tried to...”

“Shut up! You never tried. Just look at me! I’m a damned...d-d-damned...”

The words never came out, instead turning into choking gurgles coming from Flim's throat. His hoof was clenched tightly to his chest, where he felt as through a knife had stabbed him through. The pain began to radiate out—into his torso, his limbs, his head. The restaurant was spinning uncontrollably, outlines meshing into one smeared mess.

It took only a second for him to fall. Thousands of memories, names, words bounced through his mind. His heartbeat started to slow, every weak pump sending another jolt of pain. Down and down he went, spiraling into the dark abyss where his demons were waiting to pounce. It was like he was being dragged down by their wicked, cider-smelling claws, beating against the current, gasping for air. The thumping continued.

His jaw struck the side of the table on the way down with a crack, opening up a nasty gash. Then his body fell onto the floor as he clutched his burning chest. He felt the erratic thumping against the ground, and he was reminded of that wide-lipped drummer pounding away.

“Flim! Flim! Help! Somepony call an ambulance! Help!” his brother shouted. Placing his hooves on Flim’s back, Flam began to chatter frantically, but the words seemed to merge into an incoherent blur.

Dear gods, I’m thirsty, Flim thought as the vortex continued to swirl around him. So thirsty…damn thirsty…

He caught a glimpse of a puddle of wine—or was it blood?—pooling near the top of his head. Then, his brother’s cries faded away, and the world went black.

Comments

[Hopefullygoodgrammar]

I liked the tension and I thought that the escalation was done very well, this is pretty good so far, keep it up