It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. Sunset and Twilight where out hoping to spend sometime together. However, this was spoiled as they noticed a large number of ill and injured ponies walking in mass. They followed them and bumped into familiar faces.

"Wow. I wonder where's everpony is headed." mused Applejack.

"What are you doing here?" asked Applejack skeptically.

"We're following the crowd." answered Sunset.

"Not surprised there." mumbled Applejack.

"We don't want trouble." said Twilight.

"Just stay away from us." demanded Granny Smith.

"Eeyup." agreed Bic Mac.

The Apples began following music.

"Nice seeing you." said Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom went to catch up with her family.

"Let's follow that music." said Sunset.

The five followed the music to a tent where the brothers who put on the show arrived.

"I should have know it was them." sighed Twilight.

"You know these two?" asked Sunset.

"Flim and Flam are con artists who tried to take Sweet Apple Acres from the Apples." answered Twilight.

The two put on a song to convince the ponies to buy their claims.

"Do you think they're up to their old tricks?" asked Sunset.

"No doubt." answered Twilight flatly.

"Now I know our claims seems fantastical." noted Flam.

"Impractical." said Flim.

The two jumped off stage and began to interact with the audience.

"Improbable." said Flam.

"Impossible." sad Flim.

"And magically." said both brothers, reappearing on stage.

"That's such an easy trick." muttered Sunset.

"So we welcome ever suffering pony to make their way up to the stage." said Flam.

"Don't crowd." stated Flim.

"And we're prove our tonic's effectiveness before your very eyes!" declared Flam.

Flim began looking out to the crowd.

"You there!" cried Flim.

A spotlight shown on a pony with crutches.

"Come up here good sir." said Flim.

The pony made his way to the stage.

"I'll wager you're tired of those crutches my friend." said Flam.

Flim used his magic to present a bottle of their tonic.

"Try taking a sip of this." said Flim.

The pony took a sip of the tonic and was seemingly cured.

"Unbelievable.' sad Twilight amazed.

As the brothers began singing about all the wonders their tonic could preform, Sunset shook her head skeptically.

"I don't buy it." said Sunset.

"Neither do I." agreed Twilight.

"I'll bet my life that guy is in on it." muttered Sunset.

"Do you really think they'd do that?" asked Twilight shocked.

Twilight smacked herself in the head.

"What am I saying. Of course the Flim Flam Brothers would do that." said Twilight.

"Sold!" declared Granny Smith.

The two unicorns where stunned to see Granny Smith accepting their tonic.

"Congratulations Granny Smith. You just made the purchase of a lifetime." said Flam.

Flam exchanged her bits for a bottle of tonic.

"Are you as worried as I am?" asked Applejack concerned.

"Eeyup." answered Big Mac.

The crowd dispersed. Sunset and Twilight where certain something was up with the "miracle cure" the Flim Flam Brothers where offering. Especially with the pony who was seemingly cured before everypony's eyes. Meanwhile, Granny Smith seemed to get a new lease on life thanks to the tonic. However, her new adventurous attitude worried her grandchildren. That night, Applejack decided to check on the Flim Flam Brothers. However, she met two familiar faces.

"Sunset? What are y'all doing here?" asked Applejack.

Twilight hung her head, knowing Applejack purposely didn't mention her.

"We're trying to find out exactly what's going on with this tonic." answered Sunset.

"Don't tell me you think this is real." begged Applejack flatly.

"We think it's bogus." answered Sunset.

"Good. We're on the same page." sighed Applejack relieved.

"We also think that pony who was "cured" is in on it." added Twilight.

Applejack shot Twilight a dirty glare, but thought it over.

"Damn, that makes sense." admitted Applejack.

"Let's work together." proposed Sunset.

"Fine by me." shrugged Applejack.

Applejack laid her eyes on Twilight.

"You stay out of my way." said Applejack bluntly.

Applejack began walking.

"You okay?" asked Sunset.

"Yeah." answered Twilight.

The trio reached the tent where they noticed the same pony dance out.

"I knew he was in on it!" declared Sunset.

Silver Shill noticed he was caught and ran off.

"You follow him. We'll try to cut him off." said Sunset.

"Right." agreed Applejack.

The ponies gave chase. Sunset and Twilight ran, but lost sight of the pony. Applejack found Silver Shill confirming the Flim Flam Brothers tonic was nothing but a scam. However, they managed to convince the Element of Honesty to stay quiet for now. Applejack quietly went home managing to avoid Sunset and Twilight. The next day, the Apple family where relaxing at the pond. The Apple family headed back to Flim and Flam when they where interrupted.

"Applejack!" called Sunset.

Sunset walked over.

"Oh hi." said Applejack.

"So, what happened last night?" asked Sunset.

Applejack gulped.

"Nothing." answered Applejack, lying terrible.

"Come on AJ." said Sunset firmly.

"Look, we need to get going." noted Applejack.

Granny Smith put down a large bag of bits.

"Are you saying this stuff works?" asked a pony hopeful.

"It seems to work for Granny." answered Applejack.

"What is she doing?" asked Sunset surprised.

The Flim Flam Brothers used this "endorsement" to their benefit.

"Selling out her honesty." answered Twilight sadly.

Twilight and Sunset both left disappointed while the Flim Flam Brothers peddled their tonic. The next day, the diving competition came. The Apple family attended as Granny Smith was set to compete. Twilight and Sunset arrived as well. The two where there for two reasons. Firstly, they where interested in the event. Second, they where aware of what Granny Smith was doing and where worried about her safety.

"Do you think Granny Smith will be okay?" asked Twilight worried.

"I don't know." answered Sunset concerned.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Twilight.

"Not really." answered Sunset upset.

"Granny Smith could get hurt." noted Twilight worried.

"If we think something is going wrong we could always intervene." said Sunset.

"But, we might not realize something is going wrong." said Twilight distressed.

"She won't listen to us." replied Sunset.

"Maybe we could try and get Apple Bloom to help." proposed Twilight/

"Apple Bloom is helping her." revealed Sunset.

Granny Smith carried out her routine. Granny Smith nailed it getting cheers from the crowd and got a perfect 10 from the judges.

"I can't believe it." admitted Sunset surprised.

"Maybe we underestimated her." said Twilight.

A reporter asked Granny Smith how she did it.

"But, mostly it's the tonic." answered Granny Smith.

The Flim Flam Brothers quickly joined Granny Smith.

"That's Flim Flam's Miracle Curative Tonic to be precise." said Flam.

"Buy it now while supplies last." added Flim.

As ponies lined up to buy the tonic, Applejack noticed Silver Shill.

"What are you doing here?" asked Applejack annoyed.

"Things are going so well Flim and Flam are giving me a promotion." answered Silver Shill happily.

Silver Shill pulled out a bit.

"Just made my first bit as a sales' pony." noted Silver Shill.

Silver Shill put the bit away.

"No more costumes for this pony." said Silver Shill happily.

The stallion noticed what he was wearing.

"This is more of a uniform." added Silver Shill.

"If you say so." replied Applejack.

"I used to wonder if I was doing the right thing. Pretending to be cured. Basically, lying to everypony." admitted Silver Shill.

The stallion suddenly smiled.

"But thanks to you I realized sometimes honesty isn't the best policy." said Silver Shill.

"Thanks to me." said Applejack guilty.

Applejack suddenly noticed Apple Bloom peddling the tonic.

"Applejack..." began Twilight.

"What do you want?" asked Applejack annoyed.

"I wanted to ask what's going on." answered Twilight.

Applejack raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"This isn't like you. You're always so honest." noted Twilight.

"It's not like this is hurtin' anypony." replied Applejack uncomfortable.

"Apple Bloom is selling the tonic now." said Twilight.

Applejack cringed at this.

"I know you can't like that." said Twilight.

"I ain't." admitted Applejack.

"Apple Bloom looks up to you and your telling her it's okay to be deceptive." said Twilight.

Applejack hung her head in shame.

"You're right." admitted Applejack flatly.

"You know what you have to do." said Twilight.

Sunset galloped over to them.

"We have a problem!" declared Sunset.

Sunset pointed the duo to a large tower with a small pool under it.

"Granny Smith is going to try and break the Equestrian high dive record." said Sunset.

"She could be killed." said Twilight worried.

Applejack galloped over to the tower with Sunset and Twilight behind her. Applejack raced up the ladder just as Granny Smith jumped. Luckily, Applejack used a nearby rope as a lasso and tied it around Granny's back leg. Applejack then slowly lowered to ground.

"Oh thank Celestia." sighed Sunset relieved.

Applejack came down the ladder.

"You can't do a dive like that!" declared Applejack.

"Quit your fussin'! I had enough tonic to do a jump ten times that high!" exclaimed Granny Smith.

"Twenty times." said Flam.

"Thirty times with favorable wind." said Flim.

Granny drank the tonic, but the sun's reflection cause Applejack to see a rainbow. Applejack remember what Twilight said.

"You know what you have to do." said Twilight.

"I hate to disappoint everypony, but there's no way Granny could have made that dive because this tonic is a fake!" revealed Applejack.

Twilight smiled happily.

"But, you gave it your stamp of approval." noted a pony.

"Are you saying you lied?" asked another pony.

"I am." answered Applejack.

This led to amazed gasps.

"I didn't mean to, but everypony seemed so happy. I didn't want to disappoint everypony when I found out it was fake." explained Applejack.

The farmer took off her Stetson and held it over her. Applejack looked at Twilight.

"I just hope overtime I can earn back your trust." said Applejack.

Twilight nodded her head as Applejack put her Stetson back on.

"But, if the tonic is fake then how did Granny do those dives and all that acrobatic stuff we did?" asked Apple Bloom.

"It's a placebo effect. Granny could always do that, but the tonic gave her confidence." answered Sunset.

"It was inside her all along." added Applejack.

Applejack and Granny Smith shared a hug. Applejack then turned her attention to the Flim Flam Brothers.

"But tellin' ponies your tonic can do things it can't is just plain wrong." stated Applejack.

"But you just said it boosts confidence." noted Flam.

"And that's not all..." began Flim.

"Yes it is!" declared a voice.

Silver Shill stepped forward.

"In fact, it's not a tonic at all. I know because I helped make it." said Silver Shill.

Silver Shill removed his uniform as the Flim Flam Brothers began to sweat.

"Watching Applejack save Granny and admit to lying made me realize I was making ponies believe in a thing that just wasn't so." explained Silver Shill.

"Believing in something can help your confidence, but if that something is a lie then eventually it's going to lead to something bad." added Applejack.

The Flim Flam Brothers began backing up and slipped away. Silver Shill thanked Applejack and gave her his bit which bore the rainbow glow. Applejack then turned to Twilight.

"Twi, I'm sorry." said Applejack.

Applejack again took her Stetson off and placed it over her heart.

"It was down like rotten the way I treated y'all." said Applejack.

"It's okay." said Twilight.

"No it ain't." replied Applejack.

Applejack hung her head.

"I had to walk a mile in your hoof steps to realize it." noted Applejack.

"Applejack, we're friends. I don't hate you." said Twilight.

Applejack put her Stetson back on and embraced Twilight.

"That's everypony." noted Sunset.

Author's Notes:

A/N: That is where we'll end things for now. Next time, Twilight has had all her friends forgive her. However, that might not fix everything. Please review.