> A Traveling Salespony's Lament > by Azure_Shadow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The train was moving at a lightning fast pace on the rickety old steel tracks, quick to get to wherever it was going as fast as it could: However, there was one unicorn stallion on the train who didn't care where the train was heading, how fast it got there, or what happened along the way, he just didn't care anymore. Flim Skim was sitting in a transport car for the train he was riding in, he wished he could've afforded a passenger car, but he had nothing of value. He looked down at himself while lying against the car. His pale coat and blue and white stripped vest were covered in dirt and filth from his new life as a drifter. His vest was unbuttoned, his bow tie and hat were nowhere to be found, and his moderate red and white mane was unkempt and had even more dirt in it. He looked down at his only other possession, a half empty bottle of some alcohol he was so quick with buying in order to ease his suffering that he hadn't even bothered looking at the brand label. Flim kept staring at the bottle clutched in his hoof, only taking note of the sound of pouring rain landing on the car, and the occasional bump or shift in the car. He did nothing, only lying in the car, occasionally taking a swig of the unknown bottle in his hoof. He sat in the car silently until he heard a loud whistle, and felt the cart coming to a screeching halt. Flim briefly wondered what dead-end town he was in now before turning his attention back to the bottle in his hoof and taking another swig. He kept listening to the rain land on the top of the car as he heard a new sound coming closer to him that sounded like hoofsteps. As these steps came closer, they stopped occasionally to be followed by the sounds of rusted doors opening and shutting; with each door sounding closer and closer. He listened to the hoofsteps get louder and louder until they stopped just outside his cart. He then heard a clicking noise, then a loud clang , followed by a rush of cold air entering the cart as the door opened. "HEY! What are you doing here!?" shouted a male voice. Flim didn't react. "HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU!" the voice shouted again. Flim didn't budge. "WHAT!? DO YA GOT COTTON IN YER EARS!? I SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"" shouted the voice, angrier than before. Flim didn't so much as glance at the owner of the voice as he took another swig of alcohol. He then heard the voice mutter something he couldn't make out, before being grabbed the the collar of the filthy shirt under his vest and being forcibly pulled out of the car, quickly enough to drop his bottle before coming face to face with an angry tan earth pony stallion who was glaring daggers at him. He growled in frustration before speaking again. "I have no time for this! I have an important shipment I need to make!" he muttered as he checked the stowaway for any goods he may have stolen before bringing Flim's face close enough to his so that he felt the stallion's heavy breathing against his muzzle. "Get your bucking flank off this train you dirty stowaway!" he said coldly before tossing Flim onto the ground a few feet away from the train. Flim laid near lifelessly on the dirt as the near empty glass bottle he was previously drinking out of landed by his face. "And take your damn booze with ya!" shouted the stallion before closing up the car Flim was on and getting back on the train. He continued to lie in the dirt as he heard the train's whistle before leaving for who knows where. Flim looked back at the bottle. He saw that it still had some booze left inside of it. He started to reach for the bottle, but his hoof froze when something about it caught his eye; the label on the bottle. Sweet Apple Acres' premium hard apple cider Sweet Apple Acres; the name brought back memories that Flim thought best forgotten. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 disaster; a day that wouldn't leave his memory no matter how much alcohol he ingested. He and his twin brother Flam had gotten word that a farm in Ponyville was falling behind on their cider producing, so the two had concocted a plan and a large machine (and a rather extravagant song and dance number) in order to rake in a profit. They had offered their services to the family that owned the farm, but they rejected their offer. In order to try and make a profit, the two brothers challenged the family to a cider making contest, which they were winning in, until they allowed that one mare's friends to help. This led to the brothers trying to speed up their machine; only for it to start sucking up trees and rocks, making the cider they made entirely undrinkable. They technically won the contest, but they lost the townsfolk, and were then forced out of town. Feelings of anger quickly rushed over Flim as he let out a brief yell as he punched the bottle of premium cider as hard as he could. The bottle rolled away until landing in a mud puddle a ways away from himself. As he looked at the bottle in the mud, those feelings of anger had left just as quickly as they came. In that moment, he had realized something that truly struck him; he was the bottle in the mud right now. For the past few months, he had been kicked around, he rolled wherever the wind took him, he was as empty as the bottle and currently, he too was stuck in the mud. Flim continued to stare at the bottle as the rain continued to pour down on top of him, as if nature was trying to wash away this sorry excuse for a stallion. He kept staring at the bottle as he listened to the sound of the rain washing him away from wherever he was. He sat there for a few minutes until his ears picked up something else; more hoofsteps. Flim payed no attention to whoever was walking as he lied in his own sorrow. He tried ignoring the growing sound of hooves getting closer to him; probably another pissed off stallion who was going to use him as his whipping colt. The hoofesteps stopped right by Flim's head as he kept staring at the bottle. "H-Hey, are you alright?" The voice was that of a mare, and a country accent that Flam would say; sounded so sweet, it was probably laced with honey. Flim turned his head up to see the mare standing above him. This mare was wearing some sort of rain coat, and had a lime green saddle bag on her back. He could see a lock of crimson red hair protruding from the hood of the coat, but the most noticeable feature this mare appeared to have were her beautiful light pistachio green eyes. Flim actually spoke up. "I'm fine....thanks." "Why are ya lying on the middle of the road stranger?" "Because I was thrown here." "Well then....why don't you get up?" Flim took some time to think before answering. "Because.......because if I did, I'd still have nowhere to go." The mare then looked around wherever they were before speaking again. "Well, I can't let ya lay out here and catch a cold, how about comin' over to mah place?" Flim's ears perked up as he heard the offer, but then quickly drooped back down. "I don't have any money." "That's alright, ah'm sure we can work something out, so what do ya say sugar? Mah house isn't far from here, and I bet some food and a warm bed sounds good right about now, don't it?" Flim was about to offer a retort, but his stomach which had a half bottle of cider in it loudly spoke for itself. As much as he hated accepting charity, he was starving, and anything was better that wallowing in the mud of whatever town they were in. Flim slowly lifted himself up from the muck, and looked where he was laying to see an imprint of where he was. "Alright, If you'll have me Missus..." "MISS Cherry Jubilee honey pie, now let's get you out of this rain!" said the mare cheerfully as she motioned for the soaking wet unicorn to follow her. They walked a few minutes through what Flim thought was a town right out of an old country western film. There were old fashioned looking building, one for each of anypony's everyday needs. There was a grocery store, a blacksmith, taxpayers office, saloon, all kinds of buildings! Flim thought it must've been late at night, for most of the buildings had their lights out, only the inn and the saloon had lights on; he could hear sounds of music and laughter as they were walking by the saloon, sounds he wished he heard more often. The two continued walking down a dirt path that led away from the town. They appeared to be walking through a desert, but as they continued walking, both ponies started to see the outline of trees in front of them, lots and lots of trees. They continued walking until the mare came to a stop before a white wooden gate with a padlock put around it. Ms. Jubilee quickly took out a small iron key from her bag and slipped it into the lock before opening it. "Welcome to Cherry Hill Ranch stranger!" said the mare as she pointed at a large farmhouse accompanied by smaller buildings besides it. Flim was amazed at the size of the house and shifted his gaze back to Jubilee. "T-this is where you live!? This is quite impressive!" He asked in awe. "Why thank ya sugar!" Jubilee giggled as she led Flim to the front patio and opening the front door. They walked into a dark entryway only for Cherry to quickly flip on the lights. Flim was blinded for a moment, before his eyes re-adjusted to see that the house looked much bigger on the inside. They were in a small entryway that had was connected to two other rooms on each side, a kitchen on the left, and a living room on the right. There was a stairwell in front of them that led to the second floor. From what Flim could tell, the house had a country flair; complete with wooden floors and walls, as well as pieces of furniture that looked like it was as old as the wild west itself. The entryway was filled with old black and white pictures of what Flim assumed to be pictures of the generations of Cherry's family. He then looked over to Ms. Jubilee, who had taken her cloak off and hung it on a coat rack, allowing Flim to see her full form. She was a few inches shorter than him, about as tall as any other mare he had met. Her mane was two different shades of crimson red, with it being curly near the end. She was wearing a pink scarf around her neck, and a cherry hair clip. She was a bit pudgy, but by no means fat. She looked as if most of her weight was sent to her more 'attractive features', most notably her plump cheeks, one of which had a beauty mark under it, and her flank which sported a pair of cherries as her cutie mark which Flim admittedly thought looked rather soft. Cherry must have noticed Flim checking her out as she chuckled. "Like what you see?" she asked as she batted her pink eye shadowed eyes at Flim flirtatiously. 'Wha-what!? N-no ma'am! W-well, not that I don't think you look attractive, you do but.." Flim shuddered as he realized he was only making things worse. This seemed to entertain Jubilee as she started laughing. "Ah'm just messin' with ya sugar!" said Jubilee as she walked into the living room, only to come out a few seconds later with a green and white quilt, which she draped around the soaking stallion. "Now follow me into the kitchen, Ah've got something that'll warm you right up!" Flim followed Jubilee as they walked into the large scale kitchen. Jubilee told him to sit at the green table with the large red and white checkered tablecloth in the middle of the kitchen. He sat there in silence, trying his best to warm up as Jubilee was making something at the stove. A few minuted passed before Jubilee came back to the table, carrying a green tray with two fancy looking tea cups, a simple metal teapot, and a plate of cherry tarts. Flim immediately went for the cherry tarts, devouring them wasn't an accurate was to put it, he was inhaling them. After finishing five tarts in five minutes, he quickly took a sip of the tea Jubilee had poured him. The tea was one of the most spectacular beverages he had ever drank in his lifetime, definitely better than any liquor he had ever drank, a thought that scared him a bit. "So Miss Jubilee,thank you for the food and tea, it's amazing." said Flim as he offered a smile. "Oh you're welcome sugar! That there is Cherry Hill Ranch's world famous cherry tarts and cherry raspberry tea! Ponies come from all over Equestria just to try a taste!" Jubilee exclaimed proudly. "My, must be quite the business if that's the case." Flim muttered to himself before devouring another tart. "Anyways, thank you again for allowing me to stay at your lovely home." "It's no trouble sugar! It wouldn't sit right with me if ah just left somepony sleep out in that rain." Jubilee assured the stallion. "But there is the issue of payment." she added as she looked down to her teacup. "O-Oh, yes of course ma'am," said Flim sheepishly as he too looked down at his teacup. "Well, I'm afraid I don't have any money, I only have the clothes on my back, and as you can see, even that's not much." he said as he took another look at the horrible condition his clothes were in. "I can see that sugar." said Jubilee as she surveyed what she could see from an opening where Flim wasn't holding the quilt over. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Well, I think I just thought of a way you could repay me." "What is it? " "You can tell me why a handsome stallion like yourself was lying out in the mud all by your lonesome durin' this downpour!" Flim cringed at the offer and looked down to the wooden floor of the kitchen. "W-well, I...I don't quite like talking about it much, It's a long story. my life as of late has been a series of unfortunate events to say the least, can we please just leave it at that?" " A series of unfortunate events? That's quite a way of putting it. Are you sure you aren't just exaggerating?" The unicorn shook his head. "No my dear, I'm feel that my life has taken a drastic turn for the worse." "I've been there sugar." said Jubilee under her breath. She sighed as she looked down to her half empty cup of tea. Flim looked back over at the earth pony mare as she looked like she was in deep thought. "Is everything alright Miss Jubilee?" asked Flim. This seemingly broke Cherry out of her trance as she met the stallion's eyes. "Well sugar, I'm afraid my life hasn't been all peaches and cream lately either." she sighed. "Alright.....how about this? If I tell you when mah life started goin' to the pits, would you feel better about telling me what happened to you?" she asked as she gave a Flim a questioning look. Flim felt his whole body tense up a bit as he broke the stare to look back at his empty tea cup. "Maybe, I'm still not sure." he replied sheepishly. Jubilee nodded as she took the metal teapot and quickly poured Flim another cup of the magnificent cherry raspberry tea. "Well, how about we wait to see after ah tell you mah story. Sound good?" The stallion rubbed his head while thinking of the offer, until he replied with a slight nod. "Alrighty then, were to start?"