On matters of Money

by Dieselkeough

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Little Pony Comic, Drama, Fancypants, Adventure, Flim and Flam, Cherry Jubilee
Length: 1275

Flim and Flam were not always money hogs, and charletans. like everypony else, they lived peaceful, normal lives. It is how money turned them into what they became.

Flim and flam, the iconic duo of sleazy sales ponies, had a long past behind them, from dealing with buffaloes, the apples, and even the mafia. however, all that has long gone ahead, and with everything they ever wanted, enough bits to satisfy them for a lifetime, flam begins to wonder if it was all worth it in the end. all the scheming and lies they had come up with, was it good inn the end?

This story seeks to understand Flim and Flam, and to give them a backstory, and to have self discovery within the brothers, what it means to be a family, and what it means to be a good person.

Published 2020-09-11 21:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-09-11 21:20:00 UTC

1: Clouds on a clear day.

The sun rose high over the clouds of Las Pegasus, the bright yellow ball, cresting the various buildings of the metropolis with a large reach. Orange hues met the skies as Flam Flimflam sat at a tea shop of the city, relaxing temporarily, and with slight tiredness before he would begin todays work. He sat back and sighed, wearing an old brown cardigan, and simply taking a break from this fast paced, never-ending life of his. he breathed in for a moment, the fact that he already no doubt, had piles of paperwork on his desk . He tried to get that out of his thoughts for the moment, work was for later, right now, all he wanted to do was to sit, and watch as the city woke.

"Would you like sugar with your tea?" A voice asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. he looked up quickly to spot the barista.

"Oh! hm..." He started, this was an inconsequential decision of course, and would have no real impact on anything, but for some reason, Flam took this with some thought. perhaps too much thought for such a decision as this. "Well, no. I think I will do splendidly without it. I do appreciate the offer however." he said with a nod to her.

The barista nodded, and trotted off, going on to help other customers who weren't as picky as Flam was with his tea. he sighed. Was this what being the CEO of one of, if not THE largest conglomerate company does to a pony? Only but a few months ago, he wouldn't have even thought about it. But with all these big decisions all the time coming to his desk, he couldn't just not think everything over. One wrong move, and everything he and his brother worked for could be gone in an instant! And needless to say, that would be rather unfortunate.

He looked back out into the streets, and towards a clocktower. Where was his brother anyways? He should have been here a few minutes ago. he sighed, figuring it was some issue at the company again, and that he should probably also head over there soon just to check up on it. He sighed. They hadn't had a lot of "family time" since after what happened with Gladmane. It was one thing when they were out on the road, able to sing songs and make some jokes with each other from city to city. it was another when they constantly had to work, and work some more. He felt that he and his brother weren't as close as they used to be. And while Twilight had cooked up a plan to keep her friends united, he couldn't help but doubt that even they would splinter off because of lack of time together. But she was the princess of friendship, and if that meant the council of friendship would stay together, she was probably right. Maybe she could help he and his brother in reconnecting... no. A foolish idea. She hated him and his brother. How could she not? He stole her materials, and tried to republish them as his own! Not to mention he also set up a competitor to her school of friendship, something he knew was important to her. Plus she had more important matters to attend to than to just help him. She was the Princess after all, not the unicorn he once saw in Ponyville. She had to deal with ambassadors and diplomats all around the globe. not to mention all the politicians with seats in the equestrian senate like himself.

He looked out the window. And saw his campaign flyers flittering by. "For a freer and more wealthy Equestria! Vote Flam FlimFlam, for the Equestrian Senate." He won the race by a massive margin. It helped he had name recognition and some great speeches, not to mention some stellar marketing skills. But he would be off to Canterlot tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the last day he would see his brother for three months. He wasn't sure how they could stay in touch, how their relationship could stay intact. It irked him quite a lot that his brother hadn't met with him for tea today. Especially with this being his last day to connect with him for quite some time.

Flam wrote a check to put with the bill for the cup of tea before drinking the rest of the tea with hidden frustration. He smiled, hiding his discontentment from the world. After all, if the world sees you badly, it will only increase in scope in size. He smiled politely toward ponies making their way toward work, or to do whatever it was they were doing as he trotted down the streets. Some seemed surprised that he walked the road rather than renting a carriage as most other rich ponies did. Sure, he may be one of the richest ponies in Equestria, but he never inherited any of his or his brothers wealth. He didn't feel like getting a carriage for such a short hop was necessary. Rather he felt it was insulting when ponies took carriages to get somewhere so close. Perhaps it was how he was raised, and how he lived most of his life, but he walked nonetheless, getting a feel for the ground on the clouds, and feeling at home, where he can control where he went, not anypony else.

He trotted toward a larger building, the company logo being portrayed brightly at its peak, "FlimFlam Beverages and Resorts." He looked up at his achievement, something so unfathomable to him as a colt, That he and his brothers could amount to something so great. If only mother could see them now... no. He shook his head. He wasn't sure if their mother would be proud of them or not. If she would see what they were now as something that she would appreciate. His brother and him have become so different than what they were as colts. Would their mother even recognize them if she were still alive? He doubted himself quite a lot on this. He sighed. Maybe it wasn't the time to ponder on such things. Maybe it was better to simply let things be, to not think on it. the prospect of not honoring their mother right... it frightened him.

He trotted through the two double doors, beholding a grand entrance, a large open area, where various ponies spoke to one another about various things. When they saw him enter, they all turned to him with fake smiles. This peeved him quite a bit. though of course he seemed to remember the fact that they didn't have the experience as he had when dealing with somepony you wanted something from.

"Congratulations for winning the election sir!" one of his employees exclaimed to him with that fake smile.

"We believed in you sir!" Though he knew they really didn't.

"Thank you everypony, truly. I will be gone for a little while, and I will announce who will take charge of the company in my stead this afternoon." He smiled, before trotting toward the elevator.

"Keep up the good work everypony!" he chimed before entering. He knew the moment he left, all the ponies in that lobby would return to their normal selves. He shut the elevator doors with a sigh. What ever happened to him just being "Like everypony else"? Sure he had more bits to his name, but that shouldn't change anything.

He sighed as the elevator brought him up to the top floor. Where hopefully, he could find his brother.