There is nothing like the daily grind to crush the feeling of ideality. Applejack may have trotted livelily out of the house, and Ardie may have been circling cheerfully overhead, but Ledger Line was dreading the daily work. It had only been a couple weeks, but it felt like ages. He wasn’t sure what he wanted in a mare, but it was definitely not an orange earth pony who seemed to love the trees an unhealthy amount. She’d even named them. And to make it worse, she said that she hadn’t named them; they had told her their names. Trees talking to ponies? Fantastic! What was next? Was the cast-iron pan going to ask to be called Black Beauty?
He dragged the full bucket of cherries over to the sorting room and slid it over a bit more roughly than strictly necessary. It bounced slightly, dropping a few cherries as it did.
And Applejack remained just as smiley and chipper as ever. He could swear she was doing it on purpose just to annoy him. She hopped into the wheel and just smirked. Ledger Line scowled, but lit his horn to start sorting.
They continued working, and then her bird swooped down and let out a screech.
Applejack chuckled. “Ardie, not in my ear!” she said as she rubbed a hoof against it without breaking her pace.
“Really?” Ledger Line asked irritably. She was definitely doing that on purpose.
Applejack must have misunderstood his irritation. “Nah. She’s trying to tell me something.”
Great. Now animals were talking to her, too.
But then he heard it. The sound of machinery approaching.
Applejack heard it too. Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped out of the wheel.
Two unicorns riding on what seemed to be a motorized float approached the orchard. Applejack growled. Her upper lip curled up, baring her teeth.
Ledger Line hesitated. This was unlike her. What was going on?
It soon arrived at the orchard, and the two unicorns leapt theatrically off.
“Heard there was a little trouble around here,” one started, tugging his striped vest slightly.
Ledger Line opened his mouth to agree wholeheartedly, but Applejack cut him off by pressing her hoof firmly across his chest. Her narrowed eyes didn’t leave the two unicorns. “Somepony’s been tellin’ you two tall tales, then,” she said, her voice low but even.
The unicorn didn't even flinch. “Well, even if that were true, I still feel—my brother and I, of course—that there could be some mutual benefits to be had with a little mutual cooperation.”
Applejack scowled.
“Hear us out. We have what can only be the greatest invention-!”
“-combining the best of both earth pony and unicorn magic!”
Applejack looked supremely unimpressed.
The unicorns continued their spiel as if in front of a large, energetic crowd.
“What we have-”
“-will revolutionize farming as we know it!”
“We have here-”
Together, now. “The Cherry Sorter and Super Pitter 7000!”
“You upgraded,” Applejack said dryly.
“And not without good reason! See, this little device holds the key to success!”
“Hard work and integrity?” Applejack suggested dryly.
“Intelligence and ingenuity!”
“Your cherries will be picked, pitted, and stored, all by machine! Our storage facilities are clean and safe.”
Ledger Line thought that was really convenient. This was sounding good.
“We’ll also be willing to explore other avenues of revenue, such as cherry cordial and wood from the cherry trees-”
“And the Flim Flam Brothers’ Orchard will be back in the black before you know it!”
Somepony who could take over the orchard? Right now that sounded great to Ledger Line. He and his aching muscles would not mind leaving these cherries behind forever.
Still, it was his aunt’s orchard. She’d left it to him. Losing it would be a blow to her memory, and the whole of Dodge Junction. He looked over to Applejack, expecting her to renegotiate.
And renegotiate she did. Applejack looked down and slowly bumped two red cherries together with the tip of her hoof, adjusting them until they looked vaguely reminiscent of those things stallions held under their tails. “It sounds almost like you’re tryin’ to take us for a ride,” she said slowly, “but I know you'd never do anything like that.”
“What?”
“Us?”
“Of course not!” Both spoke in unison.
“Oh, good. Because I'd hate it if…” Applejack suddenly crushed the paired cherries under her hoof, grinding both them and the pits inside into a red, goopy mess, making both brothers flinch. “…something bad were to happen to either of you,” she finished. She absentmindedly licked the juice off her hoof, not looking up. “It's dangerous work, working in an orchard.”
The unicorns gulped in unison. “Th- that it is, my fine earth pony friend. But with our new invention-”
“Lots of sharp objects and plenty of open land; why, if somepony were to get… hurt, it'd be a mighty long time before they were found, wouldn't you reckon? I mean, if they were ever found. Might take years, even; and by then, all that'd be left is a skeleton. With no way to identify it. Clothes, hats, mustaches; all rotted away. Just one really healthy cherry tree.”
“Well, that’s… quite the, uh, mental image there.” Flim threw his foreleg over Applejack’s shoulders.
Ardie let out a short, sharp screech.
“Don't touch me,” Applejack hissed.
Flim did not remove his hoof. “But surely, a businesspony of your caliber-”
Applejack’s flank tensed and a back hoof lifted up, and Ledger Line took an instinctive step back. He knew all too well what those hooves could do.
Flim remained ignorant. “-can see just how both parties can-”
And then she struck.
There was a sound not unlike a rubber duck being squeezed (overlaid with the sounds of multiple sticks snapping) as Applejack's hind hooves impacted his chest. Flim collapsed to his knees and then to the ground, hat askew, mouth open, completely unable to draw breath.
And for the first time since their arrival, the unicorns were left speechless.
“You… you bucked him,” Flam finally managed to say, looking down at his brother.
“I did.”
Flam was astounded. His mouth worked wordlessly. Finally, he managed to stammer, “Applejack never-”
Applejack cut him off. “Yeah, well, Applejack has seen and done too much to take any horseapples from anypony anymore, and especially not from you two. Get. Off. My. Land.”
They needed no second invitation; Flam jumped on the platform, lit his horn and lifted his brother on, and then quickly reversed backwards until he was out of sight.
Applejack didn't relax until the smoke from their machine was no longer visible.
Ledger Line watched her with morbid fascination. Once she exhaled and turned away, he picked up a hoof hesitantly, curious but definitely wanting to stay on her good side. “Applejack?”
Applejack snorted. “Trust me. I know those shysters. We're both better off with them gone.”
There was a pause.
Applejack exhaled and looked down. “I used to have so much patience,” she said quietly. She cracked a wry smile and looked over at her bird. “Hey, Ardie, remember when Apple Bloom tried to save time by shearing the sheep upstairs in the barn? Made a huge mess, most of the wool got muddy ‘cause she didn't clean their hooves, and we had to carry the sheep back down that rickety ladder one by one. Heh.” She looked wistfully down, lost in her memories.
Apple Bloom? A daughter, maybe? Either way, Ledger Line did not want to pry into her life further. Once again, he realized just how little he knew about his house guest outside of work. “I don’t know. I just…” What to say? “I hope they don’t come sneaking around tonight.”
Applejack laughed. Usually, her laugh was light and pleasant, but this one was dark and mirthless. “If they're sneaking around here at night, they're gonna regret it,” she said.
Ledger Line wasn't sure how to respond to this.
“Come on,” Applejack said, trotting away with a little less pep in her step now. She climbed back into the wheel. “We've still got lots of work left to do.”