Evenfall

by Yinglung

Chapter 19 – Fruit of Industry

Twilight stood on the train platform with her friends, she couldn’t help but sighed as she thought about the recent events. Although she’s very glad to secure Discord’s trust as a friend, their giving up of the Elements had given rise to a list of pending problems.

She originally planned to use them to test out Star Swirl’s spell of Alicornification, and return them only after she became an Alicorn and beat off another villain, although she had realized early on that it was a tall order to both keep her promise and achieve all of those.

Moreover in her previous tries, she couldn’t cast the spell without being nearly fried by the magical outburst from the Elements. She was bumped out by her constant failure, which she hadn’t figured out why and how.

But now all was moot, perhaps for the better. She surmised that she could probably defend the Kingdom even without the Elements in her saddlebag, but was that actually true?

Her troubling thoughts were interrupted by a loud train horn, as the train from Dodge Junction slowly came in on the other side. The Apples had bought the land next to the train station and built a large depot with rails in parallel to the original station for their goods transportation needs, now that Appleloosa required machine parts and regularly sent in trainloads of apples and gems.

Applejack herself went to Dodge Junction to negotiate a deal with Cherry Jubilee, the owner of the Cherry Hill Ranch. Applejack wanted to import some amount of cherries as well as other types of fruits to supplement the repertoire in her fruit winery. It would also be helpful as she, Pinkie and the Cakes were discussing a possible co-ownership of a new beverage manufactory in Ponyville.

The mares scrambled towards the correct platform and greeted Applejack, who just stepped off the newly commissioned train.

“Welcome back, Applejack!” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“How’s the trip? Did everything go well?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, did your compulsive honesty mess with your dealings?” Rainbow Dash teased.

“Please, Rainbow.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Bein’ honest is not the same as havin’ no tact.”

“And you’re back in time for the cider season.” Twilight smiled lightly.

“Oh yea.” Applejack said. Her family was no longer heavily dependent on seasonal cider sales, now that the farms were larger and their businesses were much more diversified. But the cider sales remained an important event for her family and a good opportunity for her farm to connect with the town ponies.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight had made them a prototypical cider pressing machine, which was based on the traditional mechanical press of the Apple household and the sorting mechanisms used in the apple harvester. It sort of worked, just not too reliable with the pressure control sometimes, which caused some undesirable deviation from their family recipe.

But besides the reservations from her family members about switching to machines, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were also becoming much busier with time, with Twilight having to attend to her trading company and newspaper, while taking occasional long trips away from Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie having to set up the new manufactory while carrying out her obligations at the Sugarcube Corner.

Applejack was finding somepony who can help her design, maintain and even make new machineries and machine parts, both for herself and the farms down south, and since a while ago she already had some good candidates in mind. But they might need a little bit persuasion, so to speak.

“By the way girls, do any of ya catch wind about the Flim Flam Brothers?” Applejack asked.

“Are you really… counting on them?” Fluttershy asked in hesitation.

“Yeah, they might be able to make cider pressing machines, but they’re veritable swindlers… They’re walking, breathing snake-oil salesponies.” Rarity frowned. “You get near them, and the next second they’re selling off your farm for some shiny bits and you don’t even have any idea how they’ve done it.”

“Ah won’t say Ah count on them.” Applejack put out her tongue. “But given our current technical difficulties, Ah’ll be interested in what they have to offer. Ah’ll keep a close eye on them in any case.”

“Are you sure they will be coming this year?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, so much have changed, and they might be scared of the sheer size of the Apple farms to come challenge you.”

“Cider season is a fixture in a large part of Equestria, that’s not going to change.” Rarity said.

“The helpers I sent out did catch sight of them near Las Pegasus.” Twilight said. “They were hauling their cider machine out of the city to the East. And given how Ponyville had grown, they will not give up such a chance to make big profit.”

“Oh good!” Applejack grinned. “Ah was thinkin’ Ah’d need t’ entice them to come mahself.”

The other mares gulped. The operation to entrap the Flim Flam brothers seemed to begin in earnest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What are we doin’, big sis?” Apple Bloom frowned.

“Makin’ our customers happy, as always.” Applejack smiled, and then returned to direct the helpers around the farm.

“We always do this by ourselves, why do we need so many ponies to help this year?” Apple Bloom again asked.

Applejack plopped down a sign near a fence saying ‘Wait time: 10 minutes’, and then turned to her little sister. “Every year we face a deluge of sad and angry faces because we made the ponies wait so long, and still some of them did not get their mug of cider. This is really bad for our name.”

“Look at those over there?” Applejack pointed to the stalls at the far side. “We have added a lot more service points this year. We won’t be seein’ those terribly long queues ever again.”

“What about these, um, music ponies? What do they have to do with our cider sales?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing to Pinkie Pie and a band of musicians.

“Well, ponies do nothin’ when they wait. And they sometimes get annoyed or even hysterical. We just hire them so that our customers have somethin’ to watch and listen to while they wait, it can seem like time goes by faster.”

Applejack explained. “And with our new cider pressin’ machine, even if the demand outstrip our hoof-made supply, we can still make a lot more in a short time.”

Apple Bloom still frowned. “But Ah heard granny and big brother say the machine-made cider taste a bit dull and sometimes sandy.”

Applejack sighed. “… Twilight and Pinkie had not had the time to extra fine-tune the machine, so sometimes it does not churn enough for the cider to breathe well and release their smell, and sometimes there is too much pressure which breaks the filter inside and cause the pulp to go into the cider.”

But then she smiled, albeit a bit forced. “Twilight have agreed to manually adjust the cider pressing machine when we have to use it, so don’t worry for n—”

Suddenly, there’s a tap on Applejack’s shoulder, which caused the orange mare to jump. She turned back with wide eyes, and was relieved to see it was just Twilight.

“Speakin’ o’ the purple devil…” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Yeah?” Twilight said. “And she unleash disasters on the world?”

“Who knows, you’re always hatchin’ wicked schemes.” Applejack smirked.

“Well, it’s not like it’s my idea to entrap the Flim Flams into working for you.” Twilight lowered her voice. “They were after all honorable inductees as creators of one of the horrible futures.”

Applejack huffed. “It’s not like Ah will let stupidity prevail this time.”

“Calling your alternate self and family stupid is a bit mean, no?” Twilight chuckled. “Oh and by the way, they’re here. Hiding behind the bushes and waiting to come out once you run out of cider.”

“Alright, let’s go greet our new friends.” Applejack said with a predatory grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Brother, are you sure we’ve come to the right place?” Flim asked. “The notes of mine said the Sweet Apple Acres only produce artisanal hoof-made cider, but look at this grand setting!”

“No worries, brother of mine. It was probably just sh—”

“Howdy there, friends! Fancy a mug of cider too?” A loud mare voice was heard from behind the trees they’re leaning on, causing the brothers to almost leap onto their cider machine face-first.

“Wh—who are you?” Flam asked in shock.

“Name’s Applejack.” Applejack smiled and extended a hoof. “Our family owns the cider business here.”

Flim elbowed his brother, and tightened their suits. “I’m Flim, he's Flam, we're the world famous Flim Flam Brothers, traveling salesponies nonpareil!”

“Nice machine you’ve got there. What’s it?” Applejack asked.

Flim grinned. “I’m glad you asked.”

Flam continued. “Ma’am, it's the one and only, the biggest and the best,”

“The unbelievable,”

“Unimpeachable,”

“Indi—”

“It’s a cider pressing machine, isn’t it?” Applejack said.

“—spen… What?”

“Um, yeah.” Flim said. “Our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is the most unique and superb cider maker in the whole of Equestria!”

“Indeed brother, our cider squeezer is made with the most exquisite and state-of-the-art technology that picks only the best bits of the apples to make grade-A cider!” Flam added.

“Well, I don’t mind an extra helping hoof.” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“… or machine on our farm. But I want to see your ‘superb’ cider press in action first.”

“Gladly ma’am.” Flim grinned. “Now, may my brother and I borrow some of your delicious, and might I add spellbindingly fragrant apples for our little demonstration here?”

“Of course.” A purple mare emerged from the bushes, and carried a sack of apples on her back. “Here are the best apples we’ve picked.”

Flim grinned, as he unloaded the apples into the machine. “Watch closely, my friends!”

“The fun begins!” Flam said.

“Now, here's where the magic happens.” Flim smirked, as he and his brother shot their magic into their cider press, causing the machine to erupt in thunderous noises. What they hadn’t noticed, was that Twilight immediately pulled out a notebook and wrote surreptitiously, as she closely observed the mechanisms of the cider press and how the brothers manipulated the speed and pressure of the machine.

“Right here in this heaving, roiling, cider-press-boiling guts of the very machine, those apples plucked fresh are right now as we speak being turned into top-notch, five-star, blow-your-horseshoes-off, one-of-a-kind cider!” Flim proudly finished his proclamation, which was also when Twilight hurriedly slipped her notes back into her saddlebag.

“A mug, please?” Applejack asked, as the brothers gave her a mug of freshly squeezed cider. “Mm, Mmm. Not bad. The texture is acceptable, and the aroma is passable. Ah think we might-could have a deal here.” Applejack said while tutting her tongue.

“Aha.” Flim grinned. “So what say you supply the apples…”

“...We supply the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.” Flam added.

“Then we split those sweet, sweet profits...” Flim and Flam said together.

“...Seventy-five...”

“...Twenty-five.”

“In whose favor?” Applejack asked.

“Why, us, naturally.” Flim said.

“And, we'll throw in the magic to power the machine for free.” Flam smiled.

“Isn’t that a little bit steep?” Twilight stepped forward and asked. “We basically supplied the raw materials, the venue, all other hired hooves, and even musicians to keep the ponies entertained. And magic, yeah, keeping a cider press running isn’t exactly like rolling a boulder uphill, coming from a fellow unicorn.”

“Something like fifty-fifty or sixty-forty in our favor is much more reasonable.” Applejack said.

“Oh no.” Flim said. “That cannot do. Our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is the gem of our many moons of perfection!”

“Yes, anything less than seventy-five to twenty-five is unacceptable.” Flam added.

Applejack let out a sad sigh, “Well, is there really no room for improvement in the offer?”

“Absolutely not. Our offer is the most generous!” Flim said.

“We at the Apple farms have a standard to uphold.” Applejack steadied her hat and said, “Ah don’t think such a deal would set a good example for any of our future endeavors.”

“That’s a ‘no’ then?” Flam asked.

“Eeyup.” Applejack said.

“Hmph. Very well. If you refuse our generous offer to be partners, then we'll just have to be competitors.” Flim said.

“Oh well.” Applejack said. “It’s a shame that we can’t reach a deal. See you on the level field of the free market then.”

Applejack and Twilight then turned and left, leaving the two brothers to stare at the receding figures of the mares.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, brother?” Flam said. “They don’t seem to be too daunted by our challenge.”

“Bah, that’s but a brave face they put on in order to scare us off.” Flim scoffed. “We should go charging right in and take over their entire cider business!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, the Apples again set up stall near their farm for their cider sale.

“They’re not coming,” Twilight frowned. “Were they scared off by us?”

“We’re selling only hoof-made cider, which is limited so far.” Applejack smirked. “Wait till some of the ponies who didn’t get cider yesterday to get disgruntled, and then they’d—.”

“We’re sorry, everypony!” Apple Bloom loudly announced to the remaining ponies. “That’s all of our hoof-made cider of today. But those of you who don’t get any cider today can still have a coupon fo—”

“But I don’t want coupons, I want cider!” Lyra Heartstrings, a peppermint green unicorn groaned. It seemed that although giving out goodies to disappointed ponies ease some of the letdown, a lot of the ponies were still complaining.

Rainbow Dash flew in and delivered her observation. “Here they come!”

As expected, the Flim Flam Brothers swooped in with their shiny-looking cider machine, and started their incredibly long and excited pitch towards the town ponies. Applejack and her friends simply watched, and she stopped her family from interfering as the brothers convinced the town ponies to give them a try.

“Well met, Flim Flam Brothers.” Applejack said. “I see that you two want a stake in the cider business also.”

“Not just a stake.” Flim said, “But the entire cake!”

“So you want the exclusive right to sell cider here.” Applejack said, “What do you propose?”

“With our machine, we can make enough cider in one hour to satisfy this entire town.” Flam said. “We can just out-supply you and be done with it!”

“Forty-five minutes tops for us.” Applejack said with a poker face. “How about a competition tomorrow mornin’?”

“But I'm afraid we haven't any...apples.” Flam said after the exclamations of wonder died down.

“We can supply the apples at one tenth of the price of the day.” Applejack plainly offered. “Fresh from the south field of our farm.”

Flim stroked his chin and nodded. “Uh huh. We have a bet. Whoever produces the most barrels in one hour wins the exclusive right to sell cider in Ponyville.”

Twilight sharply inhaled. She immediately scribbled the exact words of Applejack and Flim on a piece of paper and gave it to the Mayor Mare who stood next to her.

“Until tomorrow.” Flam said, as he and his brother drove their cider machine off amidst the chattering crowd. Applejack finally could not hold off her predatory grin, while her friends looked at her and gulped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Attention, everypony!” Mayor Mare announced through her megaphone. “The teams have one hour to produce as much cider as they can, after which the barrels will be counted and the winner will be named the sole cider provider for all of Ponyville!”

“Hey Flim, Flam,” Applejack asked, “Do you mind if Twilight there help us out?” She pointed at the purple mare.

Flim observed the bookish-looking mare and shrugged. “We’re going to win anyway. We don’t care if one twiggy little filly join your fray.”

Twilight raised a brow in amusement, but she remained largely expressionless.

“Yeah, yours is a lost cause.” Flam added.

“Excellent.” Applejack said, and informed the Mayor Mare of their intention.

Soon the competition began in earnest. The Apples started pedaling their mechanical cider press, but it was overshadowed by the roaring noises of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. Even as the Apples gave it their all, there was a limit how fast hoof production could achieve. The Flim Flam Brothers’ cider squeezer was outpacing the Apples by a healthy margin.

Twilight herself went to the far-side of the field, yanked off a giant canvass covering a machine, and flipped on the switch. The machine started to roar and emit white smoke as it burned the fuel inside. Twilight immediately casted a spell to stabilize the cycling mechanisms and kept it running smoothly.

The ponies looked with apprehension and expectation as they saw the barrels on the side of the Flim Flam Brothers rapidly piled up. Then with the ding of an alarm, the Mayor Mare announced. “Time's up!”

Mayor Mare began to count the barrels, and then she sighed. She opened her mouth and announced. “The result is in, Flim and Fl—”

“Wait!”

The crowd looked to their right, and were completely shocked as they witnessed Twilight hauling an indubitable pyramid of cider barrels forward with her magic. “You did agree that I can help, right?”

Mayor Mare widened her eyes. “Well, if the Apples have that many barrels added in, then they would clearly—”

“Hang on!” Flim interrupted, “How a fragile unicorn like her can made so many barrels of cider on her own? She must have cheated!”

“First, it is Twilight Sparkle, royal student of magic and defeater of Nightmare Moon, thank you very much.” Twilight huffed. “Second, I made these barrels of cider fair and square.”

She yanked forth a wheeled machine of her own, which caused the brothers to gasp aloud. “Just like you!”

“Im—Impossible!” Flam yelled. “How come you also have a cider machine?!”

“Um, I never said we don’t also have a cider pressing machine on stand-by.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “We just haven’t perfected the machine yet, and hoof-made cider is truer to our family recipe. But Twilight offered to manually fine-tune the machine, and extraordinary time calls for extraordinary measure.”

Mayor Mare looked to the flabbergasted brothers, and then turned to the crowd. “Very well. I, the Mayor Mare, hereby announced that the Apples have won this contest!”

The crowd erupted into a boisterous and emphatic cheer, and the crowd swarmed forward and tried to have a taste of the new cider.

“Oh and by the way.” Applejack turned and smirked to the dejected brothers. “I would have to charge you for the apples you used.”

“What?!” Flim exclaimed.

“Pfft, we have more than enough bits to buy all the apples of your farm at one-tenth the rate.” Flam said defiantly.

“Oh really?” Twilight said, “Here is today’s list of standard prices.”

“What?!” Flim and Flam took the paper and exclaimed at the same time.

“Five hundred golden bits an apple, are you bucking kidding me?” Flim yelled.

“Oh, it’s just fifty bits now.” Twilight said, brandishing another piece of paper with signature and a seal of it. “See, your verbal agreement with Applejack was notarized by me and the Mayor Mare.”

“Fifty bits are still extortionate for just a darn apple!” Flam cried.

“As if you two are not familiar with the idea of price gouging.” An angry-looking yellow pegasus walked near the brothers. Her fierce stare caused them to gulp and went one step back.

“I’m Fluttershy from the Ponyville Mirror. Fair Balance and I have been following your… exploits around Equestria.” Fluttershy frowned. “Prior to this, you’ve been selling fake elixir that purportedly cure all known and unknown diseases in Appleloosa and Dodge Junction for over sixty bits a bottle, even though they are just mineral oil with a little bit of peppermint in it. Sheriff Silverstar has been wanting to talk to you two for a long time.”

Flim and Flam gulped and tutted their tongues. They realized they had fallen into a sweet apple-scented trap. They began to think about a way to swiftly pack up and escape.

“Well, good news is.” Applejack said. “Ah never really want to charge you the bits anyway, because that would be… dishonest. I just want you to feel what it’s like to be gouged by your own unethical practice, so my friends and I arranged this charade for you to step in.”

The twins exhaled, but Applejack immediately added. “But it’s unlikely for you to simply walk away without consequences, as you declare yourselves to be the competitors to the Apple-Smith Farms.”

“T—The Apple-Smith Farms?” Flim clattered his teeth.

“Yes, my friend Rarity, chairmare of Raritan Mining,” Applejack patted the smiling white unicorn. “Just helped us consolidate our diverse farming businesses. What, do you that we’re just a small farm that can be run out with just a cider contest?”

Applejack began to lean in menacingly towards the brothers. “You two have been very, very naughty. Try go to the next city, town, or village and repeat this, I dare ya. My friends and I are goin’ to flood and dump the market. Try sellin’ cider when we’re givin’ them out free!”

“You’ll run out of bits yourself!” Flim yelped.

“Trust me, we have bits to burn.” Applejack narrowed her eyes.

“And we’re not shy about reporting you two to the authorities either.” Fluttershy crossed her hooves and said.

“Why do you have to do this to us? What have we done to wrong you?” Flam asked with a shaky voice.

“Not personally. Of course we’re dismayed by your less-than-honest dealing in the past.” Applejack suddenly grinned. “But you have a great use to us... If you agree to our conditions."

“What conditions?” Flam asked.

“Well, you have a way with tinkerin’ and operatin’ machineries...” Applejack said.

“And from my observations,” Twilight said, as she read the notes she have jotted. “We can definitely use your talent with regards to your fine magic control and machine making. With your help, we can surely make a cider machine that is perfectly loyal to the Apple recipe.”

“Why should we help you?” Flim asked with a frown.

“You’ll be safe with us.” Applejack said. “Ah’ll personally pay any fine and reimburse any of your previous victims, so that yer plates are wiped clean.”

“Mhmm.” Flim and Flam nodded slowly.

“We’ll also give you a truly generous offer.” Applejack said. “First, you’ll be given a base salary of eight hundred bits per moon, plus benefits, bonuses, accommodation and free catering. You’ll be in charge of manufacturing machine parts and new farming machineries on our farm, and you’ll be rewarded if we use any new business ideas you supply. What’s more, we plan to spin out our machinery business eventually, and you two will be in charge of the new company.”

“A company of our own?” Flim gasped aloud. “Brother, isn’t that our dream all along?”

“Now wait a moment.” Flam narrowed his eyes. “Why would you be so kind and generous to us after you set us up with this? There must be some trickeries involved.”

“There’s no trick.” Applejack said firmly. “We just want to show you that there’s a way to do businesses without swindling your partners and customers, and ruining other’s livelihoods.”

“If you fear there might be any tricks.” Twilight offered. “We can make a paper-and-quill contract, notarized by all the important ponies in town. This way, there will not be any hidden clause that you might find unpalatable afterwards.”

The brothers looked to each other for a long time. Flim sharply inhaled, and Flam sat on the ground with a tired sigh.

“That’s it.” Flim said, “I guess we have little choice.”

“And to be honest, brother of mine.” Flam said. “I’m a bit tired of being chased around and having to run just to make a few bits.”

“Brother?” Flim gasped.

“Why.” Flam grimaced. “Don’t you remember how we were driven away by the angry Appleloosans and buffalos together? We can’t be doing this forever.”

Flim looked at the ground in silence.

“Now we’re offered a golden opportunity, brother.” Flam said, “We must grab and make the best out of it, or it’d not happen ever again.”

The brothers slowly nodded at each other, and then turned to Applejack. “We accept your gracious offer.”

“Very good! Welcome aboard!” Applejack brightly smiled and gave the brothers two big sacks of bits, to which the brothers gasped aloud. “Here’s some bits as mah appreciation and for buyin’ up all the cider you just made. They should be more than enough.”

She then asked the Mayor Mare to borrow her megaphone. “Attention everypony! The Flim Flam Brothers have agreed to join our farms as our resident machine specialists. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, Ah announce a free cider day for today!”

The crowd again erupted into a thunderous cheer, as Pinkie Pie and her band cheerfully played a wild carnival music. Granny Smith knitted her brows. She walked near and asked Applejack, “Young’un, are you sure we’ve got enough bits for this? Cider sale’s always been our lifeline in the winter.”

“Let me tell you how many bits we now have in cash.” Applejack grinned, and she whispered a number into Granny Smith’s ears, which caused the old pony to yelp in surprise.

“What?!” Granny Smith uttered loudly, “When did we start makin’ so many bits?”

“I don’t know.” Applejack smiled at her chuckling friends, “Maybe it’s magic?”