What’s A Little Piecing Between Apples?
Applejack and Fluttershy had never tasted defeat before...especially during a friendship problem! But so far, they had been sent to Las Pegasus to find out what the suspicious goings-on at the resort were about, and that their attempt to disguise as a rich monarch had utterly fell through badly. So...that would explain why they were tasting defeat.
So far, the resort runner, Gladmane had beaten them one to nothing! But, it wasn’t over until they said it was over! They sure weren’t going down without a fight!
So, when Gladmane himself was counting up all his bits, both mares came in on cue, ready to give him the taste of his own medicine! He saw them, and smirked. “I'd have thought you'd have hit the road by now.” He chuckled.
Well, that was just it for them, as they walked up to him, ready to let him have it! “Whether we were able to fool you or not, you can't just go on keeping ponies from getting along!” Fluttershy said, hurt. “It's just... mean!”
“Now, maybe it is.” Gladmane admitted. “But, it's a meanness that works. Unlike your pathetic little ploy.” They both gasped at what he said to them, as he walked to them. “I practically invented the "High Roller Hustle". But I suppose I should be impressed.” He went to check out his resort from the window, and luckily, Fluttershy saw the red button on his intercom! She knew now exactly how to get back at him, as she quickly seized her chance to hit the button, recording Gladmane’s victory rant.
“You're the only ponies to ever figure out the secret to my success.” The High Roller said, distracted at the window. “Takes a lot of work keepin' everypony fightin'. But as long as I keep 'em convinced that I'm their only friend, all of Las Pegasus will be mine.” He turned back to the two mares, smiling in total happiness...for himself, that is. “Oh, you can't trick a confession out of a pony like me!” He gloated. “I'm always one step ahead.”
“Well, you better check your hooves...” Applejack blurted out. “...because you've just stepped in a confession!” Gladmane didn’t know what they were talking about, until he saw Fluttershy’s hoof on the red button on his intercom!
He gasped in shock, as the jig was instantly up for him. “Oh, no.” He squeaked, racing to the window. “No, no, w-w-wait, wait!”
As he was whining, Fluttershy talked into the intercom. “Did that sound okay?”
“Never better!” Two stallion ponies...aka, Applejack’s fellow rival ponies, Flim and Flam both called from downstairs happily.
It was now Applejack’s turn to speak to the public, as she walked towards the window. “Flim and Flam told us you'd see right through the fake rich pony bit, and that once you did, you wouldn't be able to resist gloatin' about it!” She announced to everyone. “This was all part of the plan!”
Gladmane knew he was busted, as he saw his so-called ‘friends’ glare at him. Sweat was flowing down his face rapidly! “Oh, now, now, friends!” He panicked. “Listen, I-I can explain everything!”
Unfortunately, the crowd wouldn’t have it, and neither would his fellow workers. He was in for a whole world of pain, now! The emotional kind! “I think you've done enough of that!” The Director pony said angrily, as he turned to his Trapeze assistant. “Darling?” She nodded, as they both trotted out of the lobby.
“Oh, I cannot believe we let him almost ruin our friendship!” Roar Horn said with regret to his partner.
“And our act.” Sprigfield said in agreement to his partner, Roar Horn. He then turned to the tycoon in rage. “Good luck finding another one!” He called out, as they both packed up their act and they left without another word.
Gladmane was super shocked, as he was losing his crowd rapidly. The pain really hit him hard in the gut...really hard! “Wait! No! Y'all come back!” He cried out, pounding in his own windows. “Come on, I-I'm gonna be ruined! This is Gladmane's, y'all! Come on, you can't do this to me!”
It was getting to the point where he just couldn’t take it anymore. So, without anything else to say, he ran out in total defeat, having lost everything. Applejack and Fluttershy had never tasted the sweet taste of victory like this in their life...ever! And for once, they were so happy to see him go.
“Gladmane has left the building!” Applejack announced bravely, and proudly as her friend nodded in agreement. They had done it! They had succeeded in kicking Gladmane out of his own territory! The mighty have fallen! The two mares wanted to do nothing more than share their own victory with Twilight later on!
Immediately after they exposed the tycoon, the golden statue of himself was knocked down to the floor as a reminder of his downfall. “I guess the map wasn't on the fritz after all.” Fluttershy said happily, as they walked out of the room. Their marks were glowing to signify that, showing that the Cutie Map mission wasn’t a glitch, after all!
“If it weren't for your history with Flim and Flam, you never would've been so determined to find somepony else to help, and we never would have found out what Gladmane was doing.” the Kind pegasus said to her friend.
“And if it weren't for you wanting to show even those two con-ponies kindness, we never would have been able to trick the trickster.” Applejack said in agreement, as she knew her friend was right. If it wasn’t for Flim and Flam’s history of conning the apples, they would never have gotten to the bottom of this casino mystery.
They approached the two con-artists, who were cleaning up the remains of Gladmane’s statue. They weren’t mad at all, but they were rather...happy that they actually managed to work together on this caper. “Must've felt pretty nice to finally put all your connivin' and cheatin' skills to good use.” She said to the two.
“Oh, it sure did!” Flam said to them, happily. “In fact, we might think of it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Both mares looked at each other, and shared a laugh.
“Speaking of...” Applejack asked, smiling as she looked around the place. “Sounds like you want to give this new resort a little management change, am I right?”
Both brothers felt a little uneasy at this, as they looked at each other, and then at the two ponies. “Actually, about that...” Flim started.
“We’ve been thinking...” Flam started.
“Oh?” The farm mare asked, in wonder.
“And, we’ve decided we’re not going to take over the resort.” Flam finished. This totally threw the two mares in for quite a shock, as they heard that.
“What?!” Applejack asked.
“But, why not?” Fluttershy asked as well.
The brothers sighed, as they decided to tell them. “The truth is we never meant to make you feel bad, and we definitely never intended to kick you and your family out of Ponyville.” Flim replied.
Applejack suddenly became flustered at that response, as she couldn’t believe what they had just said to her, despite all the things they had done in the past. “Then, why in the hay did you try to con our family into making cider knock-offs, and gave my granny a curative tonic, when it never worked?!” She asked angrily, stomping her hoof down for emphasis.
The brothers looked guilty, and nodded, as Flim stepped up to her, lifting her head which had tears coming out of her eyes. “Applejack, the reason we did all those things...” he looked at his Brother, Flam, who bowed his head down, and then back at her. “...was because of you. Your cider recipe, and TLC was what inspired us to follow in your footsteps.” He confessed.
Applejack was now thrown in for a huge loop, as the next words would change her life. “Flim is right.” Flam said, walking up to them. “We never intended to try to sabotage your family business. We just wanted to show you that we wanted to follow you. You actually inspired us, Applejack, to make our own business!”
“When we were just foals, we were wondering if we would ever succeed in life.” Flim said solemnly. “But, after we saw your family making the best tasting Apple cider...” he whispered in her ear. “Not gonna lie. It was the best tasting cider we ever had!” Applejack was really surprised at these words.
“After that, we wanted to follow your drum, and start our own business...the way your family did.” Flam said. “Don’t you see? You and your family inspired us! All this time, all we wanted to do was be your partners for the business.”
Fluttershy gasped in shock. “You mean you wanted to help her family the whole time?” She asked. “Why didn’t you tell us this?”
“We were going to...” Flim said, as he suddenly growled. “But, Granny Smith wouldn’t let you have a say in this.” He went back to his sorry expression. “Our cutie marks are even apples as well.” They showed their flanks, revealing their cutie marks, and when Applejack saw, she was filled with more shock than ever before.
Now, the farm mare felt pretty sorry for what they had been through, especially since they were only trying to help, her ears dropped down in sadness. “And no matter how good our intentions were, we should’ve never tried to ruin your family into the poorhouse.” Flam said. They nodded.
“That’s why we didn’t want to take over the resort.” Flim added. “Because, after you two saw what Gladmane’s true intentions really were, we both realized that this...” they looked around the lobby, seeing the remains of the resort. “...this isn’t what we want to be, nor is it the life we want to lead. We don’t want to go back to being the con-artists we once were.”
“Are...are you serious?” Fluttershy asked.
“We both swear on Granny Smith’s famous Apple cider!” Flam said, as they smiled happily at her.
“Speaking of...the question still stands.” Flim said to Applejack, as he put his hoof out. “You want to still be partners?”
“This time, we’ll make it easy...” Flam said in agreement. “50-50. You get half, and we get half.”
Applejack was totally stunned at this agreement. She hadn’t made any agreements with them in the past, because she was worried of losing the farm. But, now the brothers decided to make things fair. She thought about it for a second. Should she really turn down such an offer?
Finally, her mind was made up. “I’ve thought about it.” She said with her angry face. “And...” she shook Flim’s hoof happily, as her expression became excited. “Y’all got yourselves a deal!”
Both brothers were now surprised that she actually accepted their offer. Was this a dream, or was this the real deal? “Really?” They asked.
The farm mare nodded, as her face fell to sadness. “I’m so sorry, you two.” She confessed. “I shouldn’t have hated you after all these years. I was wrapped up in my pride. That’s all.”
“We understand.” Flam said. “We’re sorry we almost took everything away from you.” He stuck his hoof out at her. “Can you ever forgive us?”
Applejack smiled at them for the first time in forever. “Yes.” She said, as she hugged them both. Surprised as they were, they returned the hug.
Fluttershy then saw Applejack’s cutie mark glow again, and gasped in excitement. “Applejack, your Mark glowed again!” She squealed. The farm mare saw it, and she was totally gobsmacked at this.
“It's almost like your relationship with us was the real friendship problem.” Flim said excitedly.
Applejack felt a chill down her her body, as she broke the hug abruptly. “No it wasn’t!” She joked, trying to cover it up.
“Sure, it wasn’t!” Fluttershy said, smugly. “Just like how you told so many lies that you wound up your family in the hospital?” Now, Applejack was shocked that her friend even mentioned that.
“That was YOU?!” both brothers asked in shock.
Applejack’s mood was now sour toward her own friend. “I THOUGHT we agreed you wouldn’t ever bring that up!” She snarled.
Fluttershy almost balled up in fear at her response, but she giggled. “Well, it’s not like you do that anymore.” She said.
Applejack wanted to raise her hoof in anger, but stopped, as they all shared a laugh. “You’re right as Rain, Sugarcube.” She said happily, ruffling up her mane.
“Well, at least things are okay!” Flim said happily. “All’s well that ends well, right brother?” Flam nodded.
“But, how are we going to explain this all to your family?” Fluttershy asked, nervously. “They still are rivals to you!” Both brothers were now nervous, as she was right. How were they going to explain things to the rest of the Apple family?
Applejack thought about that, and came to a solution. “Actually, I have an idea!” She said sneakily, as she had a plan to tell her family, and end this rivalry once and for all. And for once, she actually knew how she was going to do it!
When all 4 of them arrived in Ponyville, and Fluttershy went back to her cottage, the three went to Sweet Apple Acres, determined to make things right. The Flim Flam brothers were nervous, but Applejack was calm, as she knew exactly how to handle this.
She knocked on the door, and waited for a few seconds. Finally, Granny Smith answered it. “Applejack?” She asked. “What a surprise! What are you doing back so soon?”
Applejack’s face was solemn, but happy, as if she had something very important to tell her. “Granny, I have two ponies I’d like you to meet.” And from around the corner, the two brothers trotted, nervously waving to her, and tipping their hats.
Granny Smith’s face soured up as soon as she saw them. “Flim and Flam...” she snarled. “What are you two doing here?”
“Hear us out, Granny Smith!” Flim spoke up. “We just want to explain that Applejack and us have worked things out.”
“That’ll be the day...” Granny Smith muttered under her breath.
“And, we’re sorry we gave you and your family such a hard time.” Flam added. “That was definitely dishonest of us.” They bowed their heads down.
“We never meant to take advantage of your business.” Flim continued. “We just wanted to be partners with you.” Granny still gave them the stink eye. “The reason we’ve been doing these things...was because of Applejack. She inspired us to follow our own drum.”
Now, Granny Smith was completely shocked at she heard this. Applejack...inspire the Flim Flam brothers?? Now, why didn’t she even think of that? “Oh. Wow...” she pondered upon hearing this.
As that happened, Big Mac & Applebloom came downstairs to the door. “Granny, what’s going on?” The filly asked. They stopped, as they saw the brothers, and gave them the stink eye.
“And, what are they doing here?” Big Mac asked, pointing to them.
Both brothers blushed at that. “Well, this is quite an awkward reunion.” Flim said to his brother.
“Agreed.” Flam said, as he turned to the rest of them. “You heard right, Applejack and us have come to an agreement.”
“Let’s bury the hatchet.” Flim said. “This time, we’re now doing 50-50! Sweet Apple Acres gets half...”
“...and, we get half.” Flam finished. “That way, it’s all even and everypony’s happy.”
“So, what do you say?” Flim asked, awaiting Granny’s response.
Granny said nothing for a while, creating silence between the two sides. Finally, she spoke. “I don’t like you two...OR your way of scheming here on our farm!” She said, as the brothers soaked with fear.
She then smiled. “But, if Applejack says it’s okay...” she stuck out her hoof. “...then, I guess it’s okay with us too.” The brothers both shook her hoof happily, as the other siblings smiled, nodding as well.
“You'll start on Cider Season.” Applejack said as she smiled, shaking both hooves.
Both brothers felt like they could cry tears of joy, as they hugged her. “You are not going to regret this.” Flam said. Applejack smiled, as she returned the hug.
After she broke the hug, she got an idea. “Hey, what if I take y’all over to the Hayburger, and have a little lunch?” She asked.
“How could we say no to that?” They asked happily, as they giggled and walked out of the farm, and to the town.
As that happened, the rest of the Apples watched her leave with the Flim Flam brothers. Applebloom was sipping some apple juice from a juice box, smiling, while Big Mac smiled as well.
“Only Applejack could turn a duo of jerky con-artists into her new pals.” Applebloom said happily.
Big Mac nodded, as he just said, “Eeyup.”
Granny Smith still felt suspicious, as she couldn’t figure out how Applejack had worked things out with the pair of brothers. “I still don’t know how in the wide wide world of Equestria...” she muttered under her breath.
She sure didn’t know how they were able to make peace with them. No matter, because the Flim Flam brothers were now the new partners to the Apple Family. The feud between the two sides was finally over. They were no longer enemies...but now friends. Also, the brothers would start on cider season! That was a huge plus for them, and all was well with the world.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand...when Cider Season comes, Celestia would only wonder how she’d react when she saw them with the Apples.
Author's Note
That’s all for this alternate ending! Awesome news! Applejack and the Flim Flam brothers were now friends and partners, and they now got a fair share of their deal! The feud was definitely over for the opposing businesses! Who even knew that Applejack inspired them to run their own business? Everything turned out okay in the end! Well, except for Gladmane, who had lost everything in Las Pegasus and is now penniless. Not sure about Rainbow Dash, though.
Anyways, stick around for more alternate endings coming your way!
