When Applejack arrived in Manehattan, it was just the way she remembered it from her visit as a filly. The streets were narrow and crowded, the buildings were huge and without personality, and the ponies in the street rushed by without a second glance for their fellows. This time, Applejack felt homesick as soon as she set hoof in the city. Already, she missed the wide open fields of Sweet Apple Acres and the friendly community of Ponyville. She had no illusions of finding a home or a life to suit her here, now – she was here strictly on business.
Applejack became conscious of more and more eyes on her as she made her way towards the Orange's neighbourhood. Her orange coat was grimy with the dust and dirt of the road, and her hat hardly met the standards of attire for this area. All around her, well-dressed ponies were giving her a wide berth, and muttering to each other as they glanced sidelong at her. She wondered whether she'd simply been too young to notice those looks the last time she was here. At last she reached her aunt and uncle's apartment building. Even this small piece of familiarity was enough to put her at ease, and she trotted happily up the stairs to knock on their door. The Oranges were distant cousins – third or fourth at least – but that was enough to be considered family, whether you were an Apple or an Orange.
Aunt Orange was just as Applejack remembered her – elegant and graceful, but also warm and kind-hearted, greeting Applejack with a smile. "Applejack, dear! It's been so long, look at how you've grown! Come in, come in!" The orange-maned mare led Applejack into the sitting room, calling out to her husband. "Darling, guess who's come back to visit us?"
Within minutes, Applejack and her aunt and uncle were comfortably ensconced in the sitting room, with hot tea and orange scones being served by the Orange's unicorn butler. "Will we have the pleasure of your company for a while, dear cousin?" asked Uncle Orange. "We still have some of your old things stored away – I can have Hoof set the guest bedroom up for you again if you'd like."
Applejack smiled softly and looked down at her teacup, embarrassed. "That's awfully kind of you," she murmured, finding that her cultured Manehattan accent was coming back to her after all this time. "I think I may be here for some time. I wish I could say that this was a social visit, but I'm afraid it's business that has called me to Manehattan this time."
Aunt Orange nodded gravely. "I expected so, dear. We received Granny Smith's letter about your poor parents. I understand you've been managing Sweet Apple Acres since then? Such a task for a filly your age! I hear you've done a most commendable job, though. And just the cutie mark to match it, too."
Applejack sighed and nodded. "I just do what I know my father would have done. Last year went reasonably, but this year... well, there's been the blight. Half of my crop is ruined, and we need to tear down the diseased trees to make way for new saplings. We can handle the work, but the expenses are going to be beyond us."
Her aunt nodded and smiled. "I understand completely. How much do you need?"
Surprised, Applejack shook her head. "Oh, hay no, I ain't lookin' for charity!" She flushed and placed her hoof over her mouth. "I mean, I'm not... certainly, that is generous, but I couldn't possibly..."
Uncle Orange reached over and patted Applejack's shoulder. "Relax, dear. We're the last ponies in Manehattan you need to impress. We're family."
Applejack relaxed a little, and nudged her head against her uncle's hoof. "Thanks. And really, thank you for the offer, but I couldn't accept any charity. I was hoping, though, that you might be able to help me out in talking to one of the banks for a loan."
"Of course you couldn't, darling, and I shouldn't have offered," replied Aunt Orange. "A loan would be the wisest course here, I think. Our cousin Orange Bloom and her family handle all of our investments. Darling, doesn't Orange Bloom's colt work at the Steeplechase Manehattan?"
"Orange Counter? So he does," agreed Uncle Orange. "Why don't we ask them both to tea tomorrow? We haven't had Orange Bloom over for weeks, have we?"
Uncle Orange disappeared into his study to write the invitations, while Aunt Orange showed Applejack to the guest bedroom. The room had already been fitted out just as Applejack remembered it from her previous stay, down to the same blankets on the bed and her small collection of stuffed animals on the dresser. "Oh, Aunt Orange, you didn't need to go to all this trouble," said Applejack as she embraced the older pony. "I'm a mare now, you don't need to look after me like a filly leaving home for the first time."
"Oh, but we do, dear. You know we don't have any foals of our own... Doctor Crescent says we probably never will... so what can we do but care for the rest of our family? We'll always be here for you if you need us. Now you've come a long way today, so get some sleep. I'm sure my cousin can help you tomorrow."
Applejack climbed into bed, smiling wistfully to herself. Silly aunt and uncle, she thought, treating me like a little filly. It's so good of them to take me in, though. I'm starting to think I can actually make this work.
Before she closed her eyes, she reached out and drew her old favourite stuffed dragon into the bed with her, cuddling up to it as she drifted off to sleep.
As the first rays of dawn stole through Applejack's window, her eyes popped open. Where was her rooster's crow to welcome the morning?
Slowly she sat up and remembered where she was. At least she hadn't slept in. She yawned once and sprang out of bed, rushing to her window to watch the sun rise. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" she called quietly, thinking of the work that Big Macintosh and Granny Smith would be up to at this hour. Big Macintosh would have started on the work of pulling down the infected trees to be burned, and Granny Smith would be taking care of the day's housework, since she wasn't as young as she once was. She hoped Big Macintosh would be able to keep up the pace on the farm while she was living the high life in Manehattan, and resolved to be back home as soon as her business was concluded.
She turned back to her bedroom, and rummaged through the saddlebags she had brought with her from the farm, checking that all of her documents were where she left them. The most important document was the farm's deed, currently in Granny Smith's name. Lacking any other major collateral, she would have to put the farm itself down as security for the loan. The prospect frightened her, but the farm would be finished without this loan anyway, so they had little choice. Next to the deed was a pile of papers documenting the size and financial history of the farm, to show the bank proof that they could, indeed, pay back the loan once they were over their current difficulties.
Even after reviewing the documents, the sun was still low in the eastern sky. Applejack's stomach was rumbling by this hour, accustomed as she was to eating early in the day. She wandered out into the hallway and made for the dining room, and was surprised by the quiet of the place. A quick peek down the hall showed that her aunt and uncle were still soundly asleep. A faint clattering could be heard from the kitchen, though, so she poked her head in there to find the unicorn servant, "Hoof", hard at work preparing a large omelette for the Oranges' breakfast.
"Good morning, miss!" he called cheerfully as Applejack slipped into the kitchen. He was older than her aunt and uncle, in his middle years, with a dull grey coat and a cutie mark of a hoof bearing a silver platter. "Couldn't sleep past dawn?"
Applejack chuckled nervously as she found a place to stand out of Hoof's way. "It feels strange, not having a day's worth of chores ahead of me. Feels like I've got so much time on my hooves I don't know what to do with it."
The unicorn grinned, his demeanour much softened from the formal visage he presented around the Oranges'. "I know that look when I see it. You can squeeze this morning's orange juice if your hooves are itching to be busy. And if you happen to know anything about baking, Mister Orange wanted some fruit tarts ready for tea with Mrs Orange Bloom this afternoon."
Applejack took to slicing and juicing the oranges at once, glad to be keeping herself occupied. "You sure you ain't gonna get in trouble for this?" she asked as she worked. "My uncle won't think you're treatin' his guests wrong?"
Hoof laughed. "He told me what to expect from you, lass. If it were anypony else, he'd have me flogged for letting a guest dirty her hooves in the kitchen." At Applejack's horrified look, he continued. "Oh, not literally. Mister Orange is the gentlest pony I know. Besides, I worked for his father. It's hard to be afraid of a pony when you remember him learning to walk. Don't tell him I said that."
Applejack drained the orange juice into a porcelain jug and turned her attention to the baking supplies. "It sounds like you're set up all nice here, then. Is your name really Hoof? That sounds like your folks had you all planned out to be a butler since the day you were born."
The unicorn shrugged, expertly levitating the frying pan and tipping the omelette out to be served. "Full name's Arthur Hoofington the Third. Yes, the third, my father worked for your uncle's grandfather, it runs in the family. And maybe they did. It's my special talent, after all," he continued, tilting his head towards his cutie mark. "I love the Oranges, and I love taking care of their guests. On that note, breakfast's up."
Uncle Orange smiled as Applejack sat down for breakfast, and Hoof poured the orange juice. "Sleep well, dear?"
Applejack nodded. "I slept enough. I'm just hoping Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are managing alright without me. Can't help but thinkin' about what needs doing back there."
Aunt Orange helped herself to a large slice of omelette. "You'll be back there soon enough, I'm sure. We know we won't get to keep you. We are both so very proud of you, though. We knew when you first came here that you would do great things."
Applejack blushed and took a long sip of juice. "Aww, 'taint nothin' so great. I'm just doin' what needs doin', is all."
Her uncle shook his head. "A lot of ponies say that while they're doing something no other pony is doing, or wants to do, or can do. I know your mother and father would be proud of the work you're doing."
Aunt Orange sniffed the air and, to lighten the mood, announced, "The fruit pastries for tea this afternoon smell simply divine, Hoof! Have you done something different this time? You've really outdone yourself!"
Hoof bowed his head deeply to Aunt Orange. "I thought that a little apple would be very helpful in the kitchen today, ma'am." Uncle Orange gave Applejack a wink, and she busied herself about her omelette, grinning.
The rest of the morning passed slowly, too slowly for Applejack's liking, as she fretted over the farm's documents or leafed through books in the Oranges' library. After lunch, she took a brief stroll outside, wandering down to a nearby park to watch ducks play in a tiny stream, but it still wasn't the same as the quiet serenity of the farm. She stayed out for as long as she could, then trotted back up to the apartment just as Hoof was setting out the trays for tea.
Applejack barely had time to don her good dress before the guests arrived, and she met them in the sitting room. Orange Bloom was a mare a little older than Aunt Orange, with a bright rose-coloured mane and a light orange coat. She had a pair of glasses perched on her muzzle, and her cutie mark was an orange sitting next to a pile of bits. She rose and offered Applejack a very polite curtsey. "Applejack, it's lovely to meet you. My dear cousin has told me all about you. I hope we can help you. This is my colt, Orange Counter. Say hello, dear."
The stallion seated on Orange Bloom's left was perhaps a year older than Applejack herself, and looked to have been waiting eagerly for the chance to greet her. His coat was a light olive in colour, a striking contrast with the rest of his family. His tail and mane were a handsomely bright orange. He wore a red and white striped tie fastened delicately around his neck, and his flank bore a mark of a book and a pile of oranges. He smiled brightly at Applejack as he rose from his seat and offered her his hoof. "Orange Counter. Lovely to meet you. Mother's told me all about your farm. I'm sure we can get things back to normal within a few years."
Applejack took a seat next to Orange Counter's, as her aunt and uncle exchanged family news and discussions of the economy with Orange Bloom. She was rather relieved to find that her "advisor" was her own age, and not some elderly businesspony who wouldn't be able to relate to her position. Come to think of it, Applejack rarely had the chance to speak with stallions in her age group, since most of her trips into Ponyville lately had been solely to sell apples and buy supplies at the market.
"One thing that may work against us is the fact that so many other farms have been affected by this blight," opened Orange Counter as the tea was poured. "It hasn't just been apples, mind you. My mother's been frantic with making sure our own orange producers come through this blight intact, too. She's drawn funds from our other investments to make sure that nopony skips the work needed to destroy the infected trees and prevent another outbreak next year."
"Wait, you know about this stuff?" asked Applejack, impressed. "I thought you Oranges were all business and high society all the time."
Orange Counter chuckled. "Most of us are. Exhibits A and B, my aunt and uncle. Well, cousins, but they're really such good aunts and uncles to everypony, aren't they? Fine ponies, throw wonderful parties, charming hosts, but I wouldn't put them in charge of an orange juice stall." He smiled graciously to Aunt Orange and passed her the tray of biscuits. "But my mother handles investments for the whole family, and that's a lot of ponies. We all made our fortune in the orange business, and she knows just how to make sure a farm turns a profit. As for me, well, she dragged me around on her farm visits since I was just a little colt, so I know a thing or two."
Applejack nodded and took a sip of tea. "But you don't actually work the land yerself. I can tell from your hooves."
The young stallion laughed. "Oh, my goodness, no. Can you imagine me pulling a plough? I'd break my back before I moved it ten feet. I tried bucking an orange tree once, and I swear it kicked me back. No, I think you'll find I'm quite useless outside Manehattan."
"Aww, come on now, I wouldn't say that," Applejack reassured him, even though she'd said exactly the same thing about the entire Orange family more than once at home. "I'm sure you're right useful. I could have used somepony with your talents doin' all the paperwork for the farm this last year. Ma used to handle all that, and I always thought I'd have plenty of time to learn from her." She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to..."
He nodded sympathetically. "It's alright, I know how it is. I lost my father a few years back. That pony was a financial genius. I used to sit and watch him work his figures and place his investments when I was little. Our family never enjoyed such prosperity as it did under his management. And now I have to live up to his legacy, but I know I'll end up disappointing the family – I'm just not as good as he was."
Applejack held her breath as Orange Counter talked, hearing him say the exact same things she'd felt since her parents' death. "That's just why I'm here. I don't know if I can work as hard as Pa did, or run things as well as Ma, but I gotta try. My family's been growing apples on that land since Ponyville was founded, and I don't want to be the pony to ruin all that."
Orange Counter grinned. "I think disappointing one's parents is traditional. Mother always speaks about her father's brilliance and how she'll never live up to his example. Perhaps it runs in the family. In that case, I know I can live up to at least one expectation!"
Applejack cocked her head to one side. "You don't make a whole lot of sense, y'know."
"I do when I'm working, though. And I'll make sure you get the chance to keep your family's business going. And that's my family's business, to do that. So we both get to win."