Flim and Flam

**Flim** and **Flam**, collectively known as the **Flim Flam Brothers**, are twin salespony unicorn brothers who first appear as antagonists in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and return or are mentioned in later episodes, animated shorts, IDW comics, and chapter books. Flim is called **Flim Skim** in some merchandise.

## Role

Their names are a play on a flimflam, otherwise known as a confidence trick or a con, which also foreshadows their role in the same episode's storyline.

### Season two

Flim and Flam first appear in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 on their cider-making contraption of the same name and introduce themselves through song and dance. With Ponyville's citizens faced with the dilemma of a limited quantity of manually pressed cider, they turn to Flim and Flam and their automated cider production. The brothers attempt to broker a deal with the Apple family to allow themselves business in Ponyville, calling for a 75-25 split in profits in their favor. When the Apples deny the offer, Flim declares that he and his brother will drive Sweet Apple Acres out of business.

The brothers return the next day and provoke the family into a cider-making competition to garner the rest of the town's favor, declaring that whoever produces the most barrels will be the winner. The Apple family uses manual labor to contend with the brothers, but Flim and Flam's technology overpowers them. Applejack's friends offer their help to the Apple family, which the brothers permit, calling the Apples' tactics a lost cause. The additional help allows the family to produce barrels much faster and endanger the brothers' lead. In a panic, the brothers enhance their machine's suction and turn off its quality control setting, causing it to suck up whole trees, and pulping and mixing the apples with rocks and branches.

At the end of the competition, Flim and Flam have produced the most barrels and are declared the winners. However, their tactics have caused their cider to taste horrible, and all the ponies refuse to drink it. Realizing nobody in Ponyville wants to buy their product, Flim and Flam decide to try the next town over and beat a hasty retreat.

### Season four

The brothers return in Leap of Faith, this time selling a product called the "Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic", using a musical number to hype it as a panacea able to cure any ailment and injury, and even restore youth, among other outrageous claims. The tonic appears to work on a crutch-wielding volunteer in the audience, who casts off his crutches after drinking it; and later on Granny Smith, who overcomes her crippling fear of swimming.

Suspicious of Flim and Flam, Applejack visits the brothers' tent that night and discovers that the volunteer pony, Silver Shill, is part of the brothers' act to promote the tonic. When confronted by Applejack, the two partially admit that their tonic is a useless mixture of apple juice and beet leaves. However, they point out that Granny Smith's blissful ignorance of the tonic's true nature is allowing her to relive her youth as an aquapony, and guile Applejack into silence by suggesting that she would be denying her grandmother that happiness if the truth is revealed.

The next day, Flim and Flam sell their entire stock of tonic to Granny Smith for her to perform at the Ponyville Swim Meet, while Applejack unwittingly approves of its apparent beneficial effects, boosting their credibility. They set up shop at the swimming competition, promoting Silver Shill to help sell their tonic. However, Applejack realizes the bad example her dishonesty is setting for others and, after stopping Granny Smith from performing a dangerous high diving stunt, reveals that the tonic is fake. The brothers try to save face by endorsing the tonic's placebo effects, but Silver Shill, inspired by Applejack's honesty, intervenes and further confirms the brothers' schemes. Defeated again, Flim and Flam hastily flee Ponyville before anyone notices their absence.

The brothers appear in a flashback from this episode in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1.

### Season five

In The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, in one of the altered versions of the timeline, Flim and Flam change Equestria for their benefit.

### Season six

In Viva Las Pegasus, Flim and Flam appear as employees at Gladmane's resort in Las Pegasus. However, the two opposingly sell performance tickets to ponies and frequently argue. When Applejack and Fluttershy are sent to Las Pegasus by the Cutie Map and find the two arguing, Fluttershy believes they were sent to help the two settle their differences, but Applejack refuses to help due to her past history with the brothers.

Through their individual investigations, Applejack and Fluttershy discover that resort owner Gladmane is intentionally causing arguments between the two brothers, as well as other resort employees, in order to keep them working for him. They inform Flim and Flam of Gladmane's trickery, and Flim and Flam help them expose his lies. After Gladmane is publicly disgraced and driven out of management, Flim and Flam take over ownership of the resort.

### Season seven

In A Royal Problem, Flim and Flam appear in a large pile of bits in a dream bubble as Princess Celestia views the dreams of everyone in Equestria.

### Season eight

In Grannies Gone Wild, the brothers' images are emblazoned all over the hotel formerly known as Gladmane's. In Friendship University, Flim and Flam appear as the founders of the titular school. With the university, the two make promises of teaching friendship in half the time as Twilight's School of Friendship, using the enrollment of Star Swirl the Bearded as incentive for the other students to work harder. However, the university is eventually revealed to be a front to fund the expansion of their Las Pegasus resort, forcing them to close the school and refund its students after Twilight exposes their scam to Star Swirl.

### *Best Gift Ever*

In the holiday special *My Little Pony Best Gift Ever*, Flim and Flam appear in disguise selling cheap Hearth's Warming dolls in Rainbow Falls to fund another expansion of their resort. Applejack and Fluttershy foil their scheme by convincing their customers to put more time and effort into their Hearth's Warming gifts. Flim and Flam are later run out of Rainbow Falls by their angered customers, and they are last seen riding the Friendship Express during The True Gift of Gifting.

## Depiction in *Equestria Girls*

The human counterparts of Flim and Flam appear in the Rainbow Rocks short A Case for the Bass, where they run a pawn shop called "The Flim Flam Brothers' Everything-Under-The-Sun Emporium". The brothers try to swindle Applejack when she comes to retrieve her bass guitar that Granny Smith had accidentally sold them at a garage sale for two dollars. When Applejack proves her ownership of the bass, the two compromise her into working as their costumed spokesperson to pay off the instrument.

In My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship, Flim and Flam appear operating a ring toss game booth at Equestria Land which Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer waste all their park tickets unsuccessfully trying to play. At one point, they offer a free stuffed parakeet as a consolation prize, but Sunset refuses it. They later appear operating a bottle knock-down game which Rainbow Dash easily wins during Photo Booth.

## Trivia

* The Flim Flam Brothers are also Donald and Douglas' rivals.
* The Flim Flam Brothers appears in Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventure Series to get revenge on Applejack, Toby and their friends for foiling their scams.
* Film and Flam often insults Toby of his age.