A Test of Judgment [Flim & Flam]

[Flim & Flam]

And so, the brothers sat at the circular table. While the chairs were placed equally distant from each other, as soon as Flam sat, Flim moved his chair away from Marian's and closer to his brother. Flam, however, seemed to have no problem at all. He gave his brother a brief look before they both levitated their menus in front of themselves.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Flam lowered his menu, deciding to try and strike up some conversation. "So... Marian, what brings you to Ponyville? It's not really any secret that we're all... In the same line of work." he seemed to be trying to choose his words carefully to approach this delicately. "But why ponyville? We all have different reasons, after all."

Flim remained hidden behind this menu. To him, this was worse that giving away product, even worse than getting chased out of town! Flam was trying to side with the competition! The enemy! And as much as this pony clearly didn't know what she was doing... she was giving away product, after all. One that certainly looked expensive, and not easily-produced, at that. Flim didn't trust her even more because of it. She seemed too smug, too cheerful, too... happy. Flim had no problems with a pony who loved her job. After all, he was the same way. But dining with your enemy... Well, Flim pretty much considered this sales suicide.

Flam was just lucky that Flim trusted him just a little bit more than he distrusted her.

[Madam Marian]

Marian had certainly hoped that they wouldn't end up sitting in this fashion, though she expected it. With the brothers side-by-side, it'd be harder to tear them apart, so she had to rely on their own differences in order to do so. Oh well. Marian has had to improvise before, and this time wasn't very different. Listening in to Flam as he spoke, Marian could tell that he was trying to handle things very carefully; quite aware that Flim was usually the one to speak, she could tell that Flam wanted to get it right. The judgmental eye of a sibling was always the harshest. Marian raised an eyebrow at Flam's question, acting a bit offended that he would ask such a question. She gave a chuckle, picking up the menu before her. She gave it a brief glance over before answering. "Our reasons may not be so different," she said before focusing back on the two brothers. One, Flim, remained hidden behind his menu. It'd take some coaxing to get him out. "I merely realized how much opportunity was in this lovely little town. Isn't that what every salespony sees; opportunity?"

Raising her eyebrows, she turned her attention to the menu before her. Every detail, straight down to what she ordered, would matter in a situation like this. Though they don't look like the type to analyze everything as she did, she still made it her duty to keep herself in line, just in case. Anypony could deceive anypony if they put a little effort in it, just as Marian had done earlier. From behind her menu, she was able to give a good look around at the other ponies dining nearby. One thing stood out to her, and when she realized why, she gave a sly grin. It was quite obvious by the looks on the other ponies' faces that Flim and Flam had done something quite horrible to everyone, and they all despised the brothers for it. Ah yes, she could feel the hatred around her now. Whispers of their names surrounded them. Soon enough they'd be questioning Marian and why such a seemingly nice mare was hanging around those two. Well, it would be quite a task, but the mare realized she may have just found her pitch.

Still grinning, her attention was back on the brothers once more. "How about you gentlemen?" she asked, truly hoping that she wouldn't have to dig into their past to get a good answer. She knew they were hiding something. "Business must be good here, since it seems like you've been around long enough for everyone to know your faces." She gave a brief glance to a table beside them, where a pare of gossiping mares were trying to refrain from staring at their table for too long. Marian certainly hoped they could read her questioning in her eyes. Being in public like this, a straightforward confession would certainly get interesting rather quickly.

[Flim & Flam]

Opportunity. An interesting choice of words, one that caused the brothers to cast a quick glance at each other. "Well, I suppose you're right, there." Flam nodded. "But is it really enough for so many ponies?" Flim added in, taking a verbal jab at their potential competitor.

"Erm... What he means is..." Flam started with an apologetic look... but failed to find the right words that would cushion Flim's hostility. Instead, he just decided to address her other questions.

"Well, we've been through here before, but we've only settled completely here in Ponyville a little while ago. You see. It takes a while to know just how this town runs. Who has a lot of influence on the townsfolk and who doesn't."

Flim made no effort to hide this hoof hitting his face at his brother's explanation. He may as well have pretty much told the whole story of the "Cider Season Incident".

"What he means to say, is that we've had our claim on this town for a while, all the way back since when we first scoped out the town for just what kinds of... opportunities there were. Like in your case, I'd stay away from the jewelry. This town's already got a jeweler, another one moved into town not long ago too, if I'm not mistaken. And I'm sure there's a few around town with an appraising eye." Not that Flim suspected her of everything, but he knows that every good salespony has an angle, and usually it isn't something they'd want their customers to find out about. If anything Flim considers this an act of kindness.

Either way, the brothers' thoughts were interrupted as the waiter arrived to take their order.
"Ladies first"
The brothers blinked at each other for a moment, having said that last part in unison.

[Madam Marian]

Avoiding her inquiries...interesting. They were hiding something, no doubt in her mind now. Trust lies in the truth, and if they had any hope in possibly aligning themselves with her, they had to trust her to keep their secret. If they had the guts to reveal such a secret to her, she would certainly respect it. She couldn't lead them on the entire time, however. They'd have to take that step on their own if they wished to gain her trust. "My business doesn't just apply to jewelry," she clarified. "I could sell anything, really. I have investors behind those products. I do the...dirty work, I suppose." She hoped they'd be wondering about the necklace she simply gave away; it had to be driving them mad by now.

"Research is quite the vital part of a sale," she continued, once again trying to steer the conversation toward an admittedly risky idea: a collaboration. "I plan on executing a scam in the future, and research is the very first step." No harm done in revealing her plans for Ponyville, especially to these two. They wouldn't dare make a move against her, at least not publicly. Not when there were so many around who constantly glared over at their table.

She hadn't noticed the waiter when he approached, obviously quite concentrated on every reaction the brothers had to her words. She gave an internal sigh, believing that she was on quite a roll here. As long as they got through this quickly, she'd be okay with the interruption. Giving the waiter a smile, she turned back to the menu, giving it one last look-over. "The fruit salad seems delightful," she said. "With a small glass of water, please." Once the waiter finished scribbling the order on his notepad, both he and Marian glanced over to the brothers, a sinister smile stretched across her face.

[Flim & Flam]

Flim couldn't help but grin at the word "Investors". His fears were instantly dashed away. She wasn't a salespony, she wasn't even close to their league (at least, that's how he interpreted things) To him, she was a middlepony at best. A face for some bosses to sell their products just until she isn't worth the cost anymore, and they'd find some other pretty-faced conpony to do their legwork for them. She wasn't a threat. At best, she was a temporary nuisance that they'll run out of town in no time.

He sat back in his seat. "I'll have whatever today's soup is."

Flam, however, seemed to be on the exact opposite wavelength of his brother for once. With each passing moment, he found himself liking the idea of working with this mare more and more. He couldn't seem to place exactly what made him think that way though... Maybe it was the way she carried herself and spoke so exactly to the brothers, or maybe it was how she was able to even challenge them in a sale... or maybe it was her deceitfully trustworthy voice... or her friendly-yet-devious smile... or the curls of her mane... or-

Flam blinked, looking up at the expectant waiter. Had he been staring at her? With an embarrassed smile, he didn't even bother to look at the menu. "Whatever the Lady's having will be fine." He wanted to seem like he was on her side in every detail, after all.

"Yes, well, I think business should go pretty well for you in this town. Just be careful they don't run you out of town if they catch on." He subtly tried to steer her away from the word 'scam'. While it's the right word for the situation, it's definitely not the kind of attitude that they want the townsfolk to catch on to.

[Madam Marian]

Watching the boys, Marian realized how desperately she wanted to dig into their minds. A vital part of her technique included knowing everything and anything, and the fact that they were keeping things from her only made her desire to dig even stronger than before. Still, she kept quiet, as she knew for a fact that she would unveil those dirty secrets...eventually. But for now, she would remain silent about the matter. She'd make sure that it would remain a subject the two parties were trying so desperately to avoid. Eventually, it would bother them so much that they'd have to talk about it just to get rid of the feeling that they were trying hard to not think about.

Oh, how sweet, Flam seemed to be concerned about her ability to remain other ponies' allies in Ponyville. She chuckled at the very thought of being driven out of town, mostly because it had never happened before in her life. "Oh, my dear Flam," she said. "I assure you that I am quite careful with my job." Marian felt that she should take the time to explain to them just how she worked. Perhaps they'd be more revealing since she was speaking about it so openly. "Unlike you two who like to boast about a product to a large audience, I prefer to seek out the individual. I find subtle ways to befriend said individual, simply helping them with an errand in the beginning, and in the meantime I slowly insert myself into their minds, finding out what makes them tick. I take advantage of their weaknesses and convince them that the product will help take care of that." She paused for a moment. "Then again, the process differs from pony to pony. But I still depend on a...friendship, you could say, to earn trust."

The waiter had arrived with their drinks, and Marian paused to take a sip of her water. Turning back to Flim and Flam, she looked each of them in the eyes. Something was different about this gaze; it was almost as if the true Marian was watching them, as opposed to the act she constantly put on. "I would not be telling you two this if I did not trust you." Judging by her tone, it was obvious that she truly trusted the boys.

[Flim & Flam]

Flim interjected at how she so grossly oversimplified their salesmanship. "Ahem. Madame, we may do plenty of things for our sales, but boasting is not one of them!" he crosses his hooves.

Flam just sighs, once again picking up the pieces of his irritable statement. Flim could sell water to a drowning pony... but once he got upset over something, especially business... Well, Marian was experiencing the brunt of it firsthand.

"What my brother here means to say, is that while your approach is... nice... It might not be enough in a town like this. The second that the ponies in this town catch on to what you're doing with your... 'friends'... Well, just be ready to move on." He coughs a bit and sips his drink, still a bit worried about the looks they've been getting, considering their last visit to Ponyville.

"The modern world is here, Marian. It's all about quantity over quality. Most ponies won't stop to think about what they're buying if you keep them distracted" Flim took his hat off and wiggled it in the air in a showpony-style to punctuate his point.

"The question remains..."
"If we're so different..."
"How can we..."
"Come to an arrangement?"

"We don't take too kindly to competition." Flim warned. But a much more comforting and apologetic look from Flam hinted that 'we' may not be entirely in agreement. Flim cast a glance at his brother, who immediately dropped the look. Even his perfectly-curled mustache seemed to droop slightly.