"Mornin', Flim, Flam." Apple Bloom waved at either from behind her counter. "Ya got a minute?"

They glanced at each other, having planned to just wander past Apple Bloom, not actually talk to her. "Sure," allowed Flim with a shrug.

"Certainly," more enthusiastically joined Flam. "What do you need? We running low on a supply?"

Flim perked as if that explained everything. "Ah yes, do let us know. Your treats are delightful. We don't want a pause for some ordering neglect, now do we?"

"Certainly not." Flam nodded sagaciously. "Is that it?"

She waved them closer until they had arrived, taking seats at her dining counter. "It's about keepin' this place goin', yeah." Apple Bloom glanced at the crowd. Thin, relatively, which was still considerable. "Ah'll get right to the point. Ah know you two got lots on yer plates."

"Indeed."

"Indubitably." The brother nodded in agreement, seemingly pleased that Apple Bloom understood that.

"We work hard." She set down a glass, attached to her hoof for as long as it needed to be. "All of us. We want this place to do well, but we want our fair cut."

Flim's head began to bead with sweat at the turn of conversation. "We pay promptly."

"Without fail," assured Flam, bobbing his head. "Was something amiss?"

"Ah got mah two bits. Two bits a day." She grabbed a hose and sprayed a bright fluid into the glass, fizzing as a large head of foam formed at the top under her careful gestures. "We work hard for those two bits."

Flim bobbed his head, half an eye on that fizzy drink. "Of course you do. We think the world of you mares."

"You said 'we?" Flam leaned in a bit. "Who is 'we' exactly?"

Apple Bloom nudged the glass closer to Flim. "Just about all of us." She enjoyed the paling of both of them. "We had a nice lil' chit chat."

Flam clopped his hooves together, chin going down on that union. "You aiming for two and a half bits a day?"

Flim was sipping his soda with an appreciative mmm. "You make these quite well. I don't know your secret."

"Well good." Apple Bloom flashed a bright smile. "The guests appreciate mah work too, but it's time to get serious." She allowed her eyes to wander. There. "See that pony, over there, sweepin' the floor?"

Flam looked over at the janitor. "What about them?"

"Why is he makin' almost ten times what ah do?" She reached out, tapping the glass Flim was enjoying. "We do good work, and not only what we make." She turned the hoof at herself. "Ah ain't dumb. We are the product. Ah may not be on that menu, but ponies come to see me, talk to me. The Apple Bloom, servin' up tasty treats? Ponies eat it up." She chuckled softly at the idea. "Literal like."

Flim gulped, abandoning his fizzy drink. "Who told you that?!"

"Ain't not a thing," retorted Apple Bloom with a faint frown. "Now are ya gonna answer that question or not? 'Cause the way ah'm lookin' at it, he ain't worth ten of us. Now... ain't gonna judge a pony like that. Ah'm sure he works hard. Ain't easy keepin' a place clean. A casino? Probably right hard. But we're workin' hard too."

The brothers glanced at one another. Flim rolled a hoof at Apple Bloom. "We weren't trying to swindle anypony."

"Certainly not!" agreed his brother with a firm nod.

"You lovely mares were our first employees. We had nothing."

"Less than nothing."

"Only a dream!" Flim nodded along with his words. "We had to set the numbers where we could even operate."

Apple Bloom hiked a brow. "Well, alright. Now that this place is goin' nice and smooth-like, you can raise our wages proper. We won't even ask for any backpay if you fix it." She leaned forward with a malicious grin. "Startin' today."

Flam clopped his hoof down on the counter, the glasses shuddering from the deep thump. "This is extortion!"

"Reckon it is," allowed Apple Bloom with a thoughtful expression. "Seein' as it's a threat. Don't see Celestia throwin' us in jail fer makin' it though. You don't own us."

Flam stood up, forehooves still on the counter, propping him upright. "We do ow--"

Flim suddenly grabbed his brother, arm over his snout. "Of course we don't. Allow us to go over the numbers and we'll get back to you. That'll be alright, hm?"

Apple Bloom smiled, the smile of a predator seeing their prey tumble and fall. "Take the time you need, so long as it happens today."

The two brothers marched off. Into that void, Fleur appeared to fill it. "They look bouleversé, as they say." Well, as Fleur said at least. "Did it work? Are you alright, mon petit guerrier?"

"Ah think it went well." She ducked down and came up with a plate of food she set right before Fleur. "Yer fave!"

"You are too good to me." With a glowing horn, she lifted a fork and began to enjoy the meal. "Mmm, you've outdone yourself. I will tell the others, oui. Did they agree to anything?"

"I gave them a deadline." Apple Bloom tapped at the counter. "They start payin' us proper today, or we gotta take action. Make sure they're ready to do that, or ah'll look right foalish."

"I can see how that would be." She snapped up a morsel, chewing thoughtfully. "I will confer with them, je t'assure." Things grew quiet as Apple Bloom served other customers, allowing Fleur to enjoy her food quietly. "I do appreciate it."

"Hm?"

"This." Fleur pushed her plate away. "I do not think I would want to do what you are doing. I appreciate it. You are brave. I will make sure they are knowing of this." She smooched the young mare's cheek and trotted off, leaving a blushing Apple Bloom behind.

What Fleur did not expect was her vision being obscured by one of the few ponies that could easily meet her gaze. Celestia nodded at her. "What's the word? I kept an eye on them, and the brothers looked… upset. A good upset?"

Fleur flipped an ear back with a small squeak of surprise. "How do you sneak up on things so well?" For such a large pony, Celestia sure knew how to do that. "I think she was having a good talk." She glanced, or tried, but Celestia's hoof caught her chin and kept her looking at Celestia.

"We're just two mares chatting. We do it all the time." Celestia smiled innocently. "What is the news?"

"Excuse me." A round stallion was looking up at the both of them. "Yes, hello. I heard you could…" He glanced furtively around. "Get the company of a mare?"

Celestia moved away from Fleur, guiding the stallion with her. "Welcome! I can tell you're excited about what we have to offer, but let's not rush into things…"

Fleur smiled at her larger friend, confident that the customer would be instructed how things worked. She went instead to Sunset Shimmer, who was just setting down a likely very alcoholic drink in view of a smiling customer. "Sunset."

"Yo." She accepted a tip from the customer, pocketing it with a smirk of triumph. Of the mares, she managed to make her bits directly, always plying for tips. "Anything new?"

"Oui." She leaned in and Summer leaned to the side, placing her head near Fleur's snout. "The petite one, she had a conversation. Today, they change, or we act."

"Righteous." Sunset gave a thumbs up, or tried, hoof in the right place for it, but having no thumb, being a pony and all. "Keep us appraised. I'm ready. Oh hey!" She turned right back to an approaching customer. "Your usual?"

And so Fleur served as the messenger, the first source of the news. Others would carry her word, helping spread it across the casino to the other mares, the energy gathering as they waited for news, good or bad, of what the brothers would do with their request.

"We're ruined!" Flim paced back and forth, eyes bulging a bit. "This is the part where we get run right out of town!"

"Calm down, dear brother." Flam perched on the seat behind their desk. "She didn't say they quit."

"She wants action, today!" Flim clopped the floor with an agitated swish of his tail. "That sounds like they're ready to start chasing."

"Brother, dearest, calm down." He took off his hat and fanned Flim with it gently. "She didn't say one word about not liking it here, or even not liking us. She just wants bits."

"Our bits!"

"Soon not our bits if we don't handle this properly." Flam set his hooves together. "I say we give them what they want. I say we--"

"--We reviewed the books," cut in Flim, hope building in his gaze. "We counted the numbers and, look at that, we can do that. Um, what were they asking for?"

"Three bits an hour," reminded Flam with a nod.

Flim cringed at the idea. "But they work all day every day. Hourly is unreasonable!"

Flam just smiled. "Thirty a day then. I doubt a single one of them will do anything but celebrate. Going from two to thirty? They'll thank us and work twice as hard!"

Flim tapped his chin with a hoof. "Hm. Thirty a day… That will tighten the budget."

"But we will survive." He leaned back. "Besides, we need to find a new hook anyway. Let's slow down on new mares and work on optimizing the ones we already have. If they want more, make them earn it."

"I like the way you're thinking." Flim offered a hoof and it was soon met in a loud clop. "We'll make this work."

"Without a doubt." Flam set his hat back on his head, ears twitching. "We always do, in the end."

"I'll tell them." Flim went for the exit, only to pause. "Should I? Tell Apple Bloom, I assume?"

"She does seem to be their spokesmare." Flam lifted an ear. "Ah, tell her we're raising everypony to 30, but the extras for the back room are suspended. Everypony will get a fair and equal amount. They can't complain about that."

Flim's eyes sparkled. "Brother, genius. Love it!" That would help tilt their wallets in the right direction. "I'll inform Apple Bloom, and grab a soda while I'm there."

And off he went, the door closing behind him as he trotted energetically out into the casino proper. "Hello!" He greeted, waved, and tipped his hat at ponies as he went. He was one of the faces of the casino. That never really turned off. He was a performer as much as anything else, and the audience was watching.

"Apple Bloom!" He could see her, serving a family a heaping tray of goodies. "Making someponies their fill?"

"Sure am." She surrendered the burdened tray to them to carry the food away with a chorus of cheers from the younger members of that family. They were likely not there for the back rooms. "Here for lunch?"

"No no, but thank you." Flim hopped up onto one of the stools and sat. "We were thinking about your situation, running the numbers, you know how it is."

"Uh huh." Apple Bloom polished clean a random glass that didn't really need cleaning. "What'd ya find?"

"Well, we don't mean to be stingy with our lovely mares, you included." He tipped his hat at Apple Bloom. "We were focusing our bits too much, you're right."

Apple Bloom broke into a smile. "So you'll do it?!"

"Everypony here will get thirty, three-zero bits every single day," solemnly swore Flim. "But no extras. No bonuses. Everypony gets thirty, every day."

Apple Bloom's eyes sparkled, imagining so much money raining upon her in comparison to the two she had been getting. She let out a whoop of rejoice before clearing her throat. "Ah mean, we agree to this new wage."

There was just a matter of what the rest of the mares thought of it.

Author's Note

And it was all settled. The end! I mean, that's how it works, right? Right? Oh shoot, is there a typo on that wage agreement?

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