In the Dead of Night
The dark horse sat by the roadside, waiting. The night breeze rustled his black mane, and the moon shone brightly above him.
They were almost here.
He adjusted himself so that he was kneeling just under the thick boughs of what was either a short tree, or a tall bush. Funny things, those. Quite a category of woody plants all their own. It could be that they were indecisive about their self-identities. Or perhaps they were making a declaration to stand out and make the landscape more interesting to passerby. They refused to abide by the normal standard of a shrub or oak. The horse found that he liked them. They made a statement, they did.
A slight creaking noise came from up the road. It was almost time.
The dark horse chuckled to himself. What a delightful little game he was about to play. He simply could not wait to see the reactions on their faces...
The creaking grew louder, now punctuated with periodic bursts of steam and the sound of wheels turning on the dirt path. The horse crouched lower.
A great locomotive came into view. It was a red carriage, with large wooden wheels in the front and smaller steel ones in the back. The whole back half was taken up with glass tubes, wooden barrels, and a shiny control system for the production of cider. On top, just behind the cider containers, was a system of pumps and levers, the top half of an engine. An electric engine. Very newfangled, very interesting; it seemed to be a sort of magic, like the kind in a unicorn's horn, but more wild and untamed. Less refined. The horse liked it. He wished ponies didn't have such a necessary, but boring, need to control it. It took a decently intelligent pony- when not compared to himself- to create a machine like that.
The front of the red carriage was far more empty than the back. Instead of a miniature apple cider factory and a locomotive engine, it only held three things: a red velvet couch, and two cream furred, red maned ponies.
The dark horse frowned. He didn't like those ponies. They had no reason. Plenty of rhyme, but no reason. Well, he would soon fix that.
With another dark, yet high-pitched, chuckle, the horse stood up and stepped in front of the tree-bush. The ponies, who had been talking quietly and excitedly to each other up to this point, froze in their places and looked his way. The one closest to the horse, young and thin looking, stood up in his seat. The pony's brother, slightly burlier and mustachioed, turned and flicked one of the switches on the control box behind him, causing the locomotive to stop. Then he too stood and looked toward the dark horse.
“Hullo out there!” the young one called. “It's quite unusual to see anypony out walking by the roadside this late, and even more so to see a fine, tall horse such as yourself! Do you require any assistance?”
“If so, we will be happy to give it to you!” the mustachioed one added behind him. “Of course, as we would be taking time out of our very busy schedule and extra weight on our ride would mean more fuel usage, we would need some form of reimbursement.”
The dark horse took a few steps towards them. “Ahh, the Flim Flam Brothers... always looking to make a profit, aren't you? It is only the passerby's luck that this profit would come from an act of benevolence this time as oppose to your usual malevolence, eh?” He chuckled again, louder this time. It quickly trailed off into a strange whine.
The ponies glanced at each other. Nervousness passed between their eyes- it was only for a second, but their visitor saw it. They looked back at the horse, expressions of cunning smirks on their muzzles. The horse smirked back. The game was on.
“I... see you have heard of us, stranger.” The young one commented. “I can assure you, any nasty rumors you have apparently heard of us can be dispelled. You merely haven't heard our side of the tales- whether some of them may be true tales at all.”
“Indeed!” The mustachioed one exclaimed. “Just sit yourself down while we present our cases! 'Tis awful, the injustice done to us by our fellow ponies!”
“Simply awful,” the young one agreed. “Why, the lies they spread about our 'malevolence'- it hurts my heart!”
“Hurts to the core!” the mustachioed one nodded.
“Jealousy, that's what it is.” The young one punctuated his statement with a dramatic hoof over his chest. “Pure jealousy.”
The mustachioed one put a hoof over his brother's shoulder in seeming sympathy. “They just can't understand our creations, our skill. We only want to help them.”
The young one looked hopefully at the horse. “Perhaps you could help us?”
The mustachioed one nodded emphatically. “Yes! You look like a smart one! A right genius, aren't you? With your help, perhaps you could spread the true stories of our experiences to the communities of Equestria!”
“You would be our hero, stranger!” The young one declared. He gave a quick solute and a short bow, and his brother did the same. “What do you say?”
The dark horse smirked wider. “I say...” he fixed his yellow-eyed gaze on the young pony. “Flim... you do seem to be attached to that... fine brother of yours. Are you not?”
The young one smiled just slightly more genuinely and nodded. Flim enveloped his mustachioed brother in an emotional hug. “Oh, yes. Flam is the best brother that money could buy! Virtuous, knowledgeable, wise...”
Flam turned his head away in a show of modesty. “Oh, stop!”
“I wouldn't trade him for the world!” Flim finished. He waved a hoof in emphasis, and his brother balanced on his hind legs and waved his hoof in the opposite direction. They posed like that for a few seconds, looking like the very image of perfect brotherhood. The epitome of pony character. Regular Trottsey Twins.
The dark horse knew better.
“Yes...” he nodded, still smirking. “Yes, you two do look close. Possibly closer than any two... gentlecoltly twins such as yourself that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Why, I'll bet you even finish each others' sentences, do you not?”
The ponies grinned. “Well, what kind of twins would we be-” Flim started.
“If we didn't know what the other was thinking?” Flam finished.
The dark horse nodded. “What kind of twins, indeed. Tell me, how long have you two been working together? When is the last time you were separated?”
“Not since birth!” Flim remarked.
“Not even then!” Flam retorted. “Upon my word, I was holding Flim's hoof as he came into this world!”
“And I was helping to push Flam ahead of me!” Flim nodded. “We just couldn't imagine going a single day without each other!”
“Why, Flim...” the dark horse emitted that strange chuckle again. “How touching. And yet, how unfitting. I thought you two to be so prepared for anything.”
Flam made a scoffing noise. “Of course we're prepared for anything! Any and all circumstances!”
“Whatever does that have to do with us being separated?” Flim asked with a bit of suspicion in his voice.
The dark horse chuckled louder. This time, his chuckled turned into a wailing, whinnying laugh. “Oh, Flim Skim! Flam Skim! There is one circumstance you did not prepare for. But, I can help with that. Yes, I do believe I can give you that assistance you were asking for, but not in the way you wanted.” He laughed even louder still, and charged.
The Flim Flam Brothers gasped and jumped from the seat of the locomotive. But, too late. They were always too late. The dark horse caught up with them far faster than they expected, far faster than any normal horse should. Before their hooves ever touched the ground, they were overtaken.
Flim was flung to the opposite side of the road. His head crashed into the trunk of a tree, and his sight went blurry. With a yelp, he forced himself up on his shaky legs and looked around wildly. “Flam? Flam, where are you? Where did you land?”
“He didn't,” a dark voice replied above him.
Flim snapped his head upwards. There, somehow in the branches of the tree, was the dark horse, with Flam in his clutches. One hoof curled around the pony's middle, pinning his forelegs to his sides, and the other hoof was clamped over his muzzle. The horse's back legs held onto the tree branch much like a bird, and he balanced perfectly as Flam struggled in his grasp. Flim visibly gaped at the sight. The dark horse chuckled back. “Ahh, I see the first stages of separation are setting in. Panic.”
“Let him go!” Flim roared, rearing and bucking the tree. The horse only laughed, and laughed harder when the pony scraped his hooves against the bark in a vain attempt at climbing the trunk. Despite the tree shaking in Flim's fervor, and despite Flam's desperate struggles, the horse still remained stock still in his high branch.
“Now, now, my little pony...” the horse's laughs slowed back down to a chuckle. It sounded as if he were laughing with himself at an inside joke. After a second he continued. “We wouldn't want your dear, sweet brother to come to any harm up here, would we?”
Flim abruptly stopped fighting. He glared up at the branch, breathing heavily in exertion and anger. “Let him go,” he growled. “You don't know who you're messing with. You let him go, right now, or I'll-”
The dark horse started laughing again. It was short and choppy, and stopped after precisely five seconds. “I'm afraid I know exactly who I'm messing with, Flim Skim. And I know exactly why. And I know you don't know the same about me. Therefore, I am at the advantage... aside from the obvious hostage, of course.” He dangled Flam above his brother mockingly. Flam twisted himself to try and kick his captor, but the horse roughly jerked him and twisted him back around, turning him slightly sideways.
Then the horse's voice grew serious. “Let me tell you right now, Flim Flam Brothers, you have no idea who you are messing with. For your information, at the angle I have Flam hanging at right now, if I were to drop him he would break his neck instantly. Don't expect to be able to soften the blow by trying to catch him, it doesn't matter what surface he lands on if his neck bends a certain way. And dropping him would be so easy.”
Flam stiffened in his arms, and Flim's eyes went wide. Then a determined look came on his face, and his horn began to glow. The dark horse snorted. “Try it. I dare you. You'll find I am perfectly immune to unicorn magic, and the instant that little pretty green beam of yours fires, I'll let go. You won't have time to refocus your energy on him instead of me before he falls.”
“How can anypony be immune to unicorn magic?” Flim erupted.
“The same way a pegasus can be immune to the electricity in lightning, if they practice enough,” the dark horse replied tartly. “I merely dispel the energy elsewhere. My people's fur is particularly reflective.”
“You're people's?” Flim repeated.
“Yes,” came the horse's short reply. “My people. Now listen closely, if you ever want to see your brother again. I need you to find certain items.” The horse's black tail curled around the branch and stretched outwards, with as much precision as a monkey's tail. The tip snapped and tossed a small scroll at Flim's hooves. “Follow the guidelines exactly, to the dot. I'll know if you don't.”
Flim looked at the scroll in exasperation. He flicked his head from the scroll to the horse, back to the scroll, and up to the horse again. “Why? Bring them where?”
“You'll have to find out the first question for yourself.” The horse raised himself up, as if about to take flight. “As for the second, look for the most reliable pony you know. They will take you to the Mordant Phooka. And with that, I bid you goodnight, and good luck!”
Flim opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, there was a flash. Not a white one, as was the norm with flashes. This was was special. It was black. An anti-flash, of sorts. It spread a wave of thick inkiness around the tree, the locomotive, and the three figures gathered there. Then it was gone. With it went the dark horse and his captive. The branch was empty.
Flim stared up at the tree, his breaths quickening, and a horrid, heavy feeling spreading throughout his body. The branch was empty. His brother was gone.
“F-Flam...” he whispered. Then, shouted, “Flam! Flam!!!” There was, of course, no answer from the darkness.
The cream pony sat down on his haunches, staring hard at the scroll and blinking rapidly to keep his eyes dry. “Flam... Flam's gone... that... that thing took him! It took him! It took my...” he trembled rapidly and fell into a laying position. “My brother...”
He closed his eyes and took deep, shaky breaths. “Focus. Got to focus. I need to get him back. I've got to find the... the most reliable pony I know.” His breaths grew shakier, and he bit his lips to keep control. “But- but the most reliable pony I know is him! Who else but Flam? I... I don't trust anyone else! Who else would be as honest as, as he is with me? Who in Equestria would know what in Equestria the Mordant Phooka is? What the blazes is a Mordant Phooka? I don't understand! I don't...”
Flim trailed off. Gritting his teeth, he bowed his head until it was nearly touching the ground. He stayed in that position for several minutes, breathing hard and wet. Finally he whispered, “I need him. I need my brother. We're a team. I don't know what to do without him... who else is as reliable... is as...”
He opened his eyes and jerked his head upwards. “Honest...” he mumbled thoughtfully.
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....Hm. Clever.
Also,
IS Applejack.
Well, it looks very promising
It was really well-written and I loved your portrayal of Flim and Flam. It also makes sense that Flim would think of Applejack. He probably doesn't know too many honest and dependable ponies... Oh, and the villain is fantastic! Manipulative, intelligent. And he seems to know their weaknesses and isn't afraid to use them against the characters. I can't wait for the next chapter! 
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Oh, thank you for pointing that out! I'll get that fixed right away. And I'm glad you like it so far!
4545196
Yaaay, I'm so glad you like it so much! I literally just did a happy dance around the kitchen. XD Well, my motivation has definitely been inspired (or inspiration has definitely been motivated, however you want to say it) by the fact that I already have two comments, so I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. ^^
WOAH! It was good. Flim Flam Brothers are very interesting characters and I feel that fandom would really make something great about them, but unfortunately there's not much stories or fan arts with them. That's why I'm really happy to see this story. It looks very promising and I wonder what Flim is going to do to gain Applejack's trust. The villain is great and I say it as someone, who usually dislikes OC characters and tends to avoid the fan fics with them. Can't wait to read more
Great so far!
Hey, hey! I sat down and read the first chapter at last!
and I am SO HAPPY I did! This first chapter was everything I was hoping for when I first drew my picture without even knowing this existed! I'm so incredibly happy I found this! 
I'm not that great at giving really good comments so please forgive me if any of this sounds rather vapid or anything
I really love how you've managed to, in a single chapter, kept Flim and Flam perfectly in character, and with one swift move thrown them into a situation that immediately develops it into something we haven't seen from them before. It instantly sucked me in and makes me want to see more of Flim's emotional roller coaster with the situation he's been thrown into. (of the two twins, I have a slight affinity for Flim.) I like that you've already introduced exactly how close a pair of twins can be. Brothers and siblings can be very close, a twin relationship is something completely its own, and I think you've set that up wonderfully here.
I had a stall at a convention this weekend and although I've been exhausted from all the work and dealing with customers all day, I found myself thinking back to this story when I had a moment to spare. I think that bodes very well. I'm excited to read the rest.
I notice you update slowly, but I read in later comments you say you've been studying and/or working for a while, so that's completely understandable. I do hope you can find both the time and motivation to update this soon since, like I've said multiple times now, I'm just so happy this story exists 8'D
This makes me want to draw. I'll see if I myself can find time to do so.
Please keep going!
Wow, this is great. I love the Flim Flam brothers, but I'm rather disappointed in the lack of stories about them. Also, your writing style is fantastic!
You said hullo instead of hello. Did you mean to do that?