This story is a sequel to The Mess We're In
Flim was never one to argue with Flam. In fact, if the situation had been any different, they might have been able to work it out. But, fate being the fickle thing that it is had other plans. After a heated fight, they split up. There was no going back, the bridge was burned and the damage done.
It soon becomes apparent that things are never as easy as they seem. Several failed attempts later, Flim is out of energy and ideas. Just when he's about to give up, a chance encounter with Applejack changes everything. Working beside the Element of Honesty was the opportunity he needed. If he could prove his sincerity to her, then nopony would question his desire for an honest life. But, as the days drag on, he realizes a truth that may just jeopardize everything. How can he prove his sincerity when he must constantly hide the truth?
Cover is fanart from Kell95 on deviantart. Thanks so much! It's wonderful. 
This one has been a long time coming. An Honest Life takes place in the same universe as my long running story, What Changes May Come and runs parallel to This Cruel and Random World. There are some aspects from those stories in this one, but there's no need to read either to enjoy this one. Essentially the events are cannon until the middle of season 4.
Prereading by Asher-N-Hunt-Editin, SageBrony07, and Nomad_Sigma. Cover art by me. This story would not have been possible without wonderful advice from SageBrony07. I can't thank them enough for their time and effort on this story.
Oh a sequel! I like it. Wait, how did you get to put words less than 1,000?
5278959 As long as you publish a total of 1000 words or more, it doesn't have to be in the same chapter.
5279008 Oh, thanks! By the way, love the story.
Oooooooooh, Pinkie and Cheesy are MARRIED~
Also, please, for the love of Celestia... *crosses fingers* Please tell me Big Mac's girlfriend is Cheerilee...not Fluttershy...Cheerilee...not Fluttershy...
Awesome! Been looking forward to this story since you mentioned it. :D
5279074 Cheerilee!
Fluttershy has Bulk. He's all she needs.
Great story! keep up the good work!!
5279097 Awwe. Thanks.
I've been looking forward to writing it. So glad it's finally time!
Wow. Nice chapter to start with. AppleJack overeacted with the whole river, but hey those two screwed her family twice. I did love Applebloom not knowing about Unicorns using their magic to eat. That was great. What I really loved this chapter was the burly version of Cheese Flim thought of. Priceles!!! Thanks for a great chapter. I can't wait for the next chapter to be published. Instant Fav.
5279204 Yeah I laughed pretty hard when I wrote that bit about Cheese. Applebloom is a ton of fun to write as she interacts with Flim. She's such a ham. I've got more of her in the next chapter.
5279267 I can't wait to read that. I guess now we need Flim to interact a bit more with Granny and Mac. Well Mac already showed dissaproval, so I guess now Flim needs to get to know Granny a bit better. Good luck writing the next chapter.
More later, but it's Apple Bloom, not Applebloom.
5279760
I didn't know that. Fixed it. 
FLIMJACK!
I'm so happy to see that you've started this!
Am i the only one sad that flim and his brother are probably never going to make up? I mean they cant come to agreement on anything but they are still brothers. But i digress i am loving this so far. I've forgotten how much i love the sibling dynamics in mlp the apple siblings are probably my favorite next to the pies.
It's "Eeyup", not "Eeup".
But I'm reading it anyways... Just that thing kinda ticks me.
Yay FlimJack! I haven't even finished WCMC yet though.
Are you going to start working on this book? just wondering.
5280505 Oh he he. I'll fix that.
5280871 Yup. This is my next long running one. I'll also have one more long running one to go along the same timeline as this, but I've not published it yet.
Ok, by the way, while I'm not into shipping this dose seem to be an entresting story.
Can't wait to read it.
I love this story so far. I'm curious to see how you pull of FlimJack, because I honestly haven't heard of it until you brought up this would be your next story
BTW that part about Flim imagining what Cheese would be like was priceless
Also, Big Mac's marefriend is Cheerlie right? I think I remember that being mentioned in WCMC, but it was probably an earlier chapter so I'm not sure
5283953 Glad you're enjoying it. Yes Cheerilee is Big Mac's girlfriend. Geeze, feels like forever since I wrote that bit in wcmc.
So many words!
Sweet chapter. I think it was funny seeing how Flim did both of AppleJack's and Mac's jobs better than they did. Also Applebloom and Flim hitting it off priceless. I wonder what is gonna happen next. Surprisingly neither of the older siblings seem as happy as they should be. I guess we will find out soon enough what happens to them and Flim. Thanks for the quick update. I love this story.
This is going wonderfully well. And it's nice to see that Flim's longing for redemption has not affected his sales patter.
5291028 Once a salespony always a salespony. When I get into his backstory, you'll start to see why he'd never be able to forget how. It's well and truly ingrained.
It seems like the apple siblings except apple bloom are still weary about flim. I still hope Flam comes to his senses i honestly cant stand seeing siblings become enemies, but it happens sadly.
Yay, Cheerilee and Big Mac are together!
And yay, Apple Bloom likes Flim!
I wasn't so sure about the set-up of this, but now I've really warmed up to the tale. It's become sweet and charming, and funny, as well. I'm going to have to keep my eye on you.
(By the way, something that struck me as hilarious was the fact that we both gave Flim a psychic sister in our stories. I don't know if that's a case of "great minds think alike" or "fools seldom differ"
)
5294663 Yeah, to me a psychic sister just fit. Seems to explain some of the brother's quirkiness. I've got a lot of siblings for them in my headcannon, and they're all a little quirky.
5294705
Care to share said headcanon?
5294707 Of course!
In my universe, Flim and Flam's family runs a circus. They travel around Equestria together, setting up their show in different towns. Their dad, Three Ring runs the show along with their mom, Trapeze. Their family is huge, and includes other ponies that follow along for the circus. Flim and Flam are the third and fourth kids out of 10. There's another set of twins in the family, the youngest two, both girls. Only Seance and Blackjack are older than they are, so they're used to handling younger siblings.
Flim and Flam learned their sales technique early to draw more ponies in for the show. Three Ring was quite adamant on them learning it early since they were so "charismatic." Trapeze is a stickler for manners and is thoroughly convinced that though they run a carnival, they don't have to live in a zoo. All her children learn how to properly behave in society. Between the pair of them, Flim and Flam learned all about speaking eloquently, singing, carnival tricks, and of course showboating.
That's my headcannon for their colthood in a nutshell. There's a lot more detail after they leave the circus, but that'll be explored more in An Honest Life.
5296442
Hey, that's really cool! Thanks! I'll definitely be tracking this
5296442
When you mentioned psychic i was like wait what? then i remember this is mlp where minotaurs can talk and centaurs take magic and two princesses control the sun and the moon and winged ponies control the weather. So in a world of magic anything is possible. For some reason i keep forgetting how anything can work in the mlpverse because magic is like the big thing here. It sounds like you didn't give the flim flam bros a bad childhood so that means they have no reason to be con artists right?
5302105 Yeah, the mlp verse leaves a lot of room for imagination. I guess that's why it's so fun to write! I'll be getting into why Flim and Flam became con artists in later chapters. It's an interesting story (at least I hope it will be).
5302214
It truly is.
Great job with this chapter. I loved the haggling part. That was so great to read. It was a pleasure to help with this chapter. You deserve the credit though. Good luck. I can't wait for the next chapter.
5317559 Glad you liked the haggling scene. It was fun to write, especially the bits with Bob. Surprisingly, writing Flim's haggling scenes turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. Strange. I think it's because scenes like that are essential Flim antics. He's a character, that's for sure.
5317598 He is a very unique character to say the least. I can't but smile while I read that part. I mean, Flim scolds Bob, and cut down the price so far. That was impressive.
*Sits down and begins reading. Gets to the end of this chapter*
There's no next button! 
Nice twist in this chapter. I loved the portrayal of AppleJack and Flim. I hope now they can start working together a bit better. Thanks for a quick update. This was fun to read.
I liked this chapter. Nice work, Mr. (or is it Ms.?) Bluegrass! After reading this and the Cheese/Pinkie story, I have come to the conclusion that you are a great author!
Oh! Do I see a Pinkie Pride reference there?
"I never meant to take your place, I only wanted to show you how honest I could be."
5324724 Thanks.
And yes, it's Miss.
5324868
I suppose it is. My subconscious must be making references because I totally did not plan that. 
I really like this chapter! The little cliff hanger makes me all excited!
Such a great chapter!!
Nice chapter. I loved how AppleJack has warmed up to Flim. It seems like she is starting to see him as family and vice versa. This is going to be a great next few chapters.
With every chapter I love this story more and more <3 I love the interactions between the characters, your portrayal of them is spot on! I hope that Flim is alright and I'm curious when Applejack will find out about his condition.
5351186 I'm so glad you're enjoying it. It's great to hear my characterization is spot on.
Characterization is really tricky, and I have to really think about the characters when I write them. Applejack is especially tricky for me, so I'm glad she's coming off in character. Thanks for reading and commenting! 
I literally screamed when I saw the new chapter!!!
Wow. that was an intense chapter. I never though racing would be final, but with what Flim has it seems to be a good reason. I guess he never improved did he? Great job. I can't wait to see what happens when AppleJack finds out. Great chapter, and thanks for the update.